New green travel scheme for council staff in Torbay

Torbay Council has teamed up with Enterprise Car Club to enable council staff to book one of three electric Nissan Leaf cars for work journeys.

The initial scheme is for local authority employees, but in the longer term it hopes to widen the scope to include a community car club.

Staff who register for the scheme will also be able to use other Enterprise electric and low-emission vehicles at a range of sites around the country, further increasing choice for staff who need to travel for work purposes.

It is estimated by Enterprise that the reduction in corporate travel costs could be as much as 25% in per mile business travel reimbursement costs if enough people use the pool cars.

Dave Thomas, leader of Torbay Council, said: “Transport is responsible for 30% of Torbay’s emissions and we know our staff are travelling around the bay frequently, often in personal vehicles that are not low or zero emissions, so this scheme is really important as well as promoting other options such as public transport and more active travel where possible such as walking and cycling.”

Dan Gursel, managing director of Enterprise Car Club, said: “We are working with an increasing number of organisations around the country who want to provide their staff with an alternative to using their own cars for work journeys.

“By providing access to modern, low- or zero-emission cars, employees and organisations benefit from lower costs and a reduction in carbon footprint.”

RAC brings mobile servicing and repairs to 1link

The RAC is aiming to make the lives of fleet managers across the UK easier by introducing a new mobile servicing option to the Epyx 1link software platform.

Fleet managers can now book RAC Mobile Mechanics via 1link to carry out a range of servicing, maintenance and repair (SMR) jobs at locations and times to suit drivers, whether that’s at home, a workplace or fleet depot.

Fleet managers who want to book an RAC Mobile Mechanic should search 1link for ‘RAC Mobile Service and Repair’ in the ‘Supplier Name’ section.

As normal, the single platform manages the process from end to end, including selecting dates and times, quotations, repair authorisations, billing and holds records for each vehicle for fleet managers’ reference.

Paul Coward, chief executive of RAC service, maintenance and repair, said: “We believe our new nationwide mobile servicing solution ticks two very important boxes for fleets. Saving the cost of getting the vehicle to the garage and associated downtime, and the complete peace of mind knowing RACs fully qualified and experienced mechanics have carried out the servicing and repairs to vehicle manufacturer specifications.”

Greg Tucker, head of OEM and dealer management at 1link, added: “The RAC is highly trusted name in the automotive sector, so we are really excited to have brought RAC mobile services and repairs into 1link. We are sure it will prove to be very popular with our customers due to the convenience it offers.”

Samsara recognised as an approved supplier on new public sector framework

Samsara has been recognised as an approved supplier on the new Kent County Council Telematics and Associated Services framework agreement.

The new framework is free to use for all UK local government authorities, the NHS and NHS trusts, central government departments, housing associations, third sector organisations, and publicly owned private companies. 

The framework, which will be managed and monitored by KCS Procurement (acting for Kent County Council), is fully compliant with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR15) and authorised participants can re-open competition within the framework, removing the need for a full tender exercise or lengthy supplier evaluation, saving time and costs associated with the procurement process.

The framework also has a Direct Award capability, giving customers a quick, easy and PCR15 compliant route to procurement.

Dylan Thomas, public sector director at Samsara, said: “At Samsara, we’re seeing organisations across a broad range of sectors experiencing the benefit of telematics systems for vehicle optimisation, fleet safety, improving driver behaviour and increasing the sustainability of their operations. The public sector is no different.

“This accreditation will allow us to work even closer with our UK public sector customers and prospects to service their requirements and we’re proud to have been recognised as part of this new specialised framework.”

UfoDrive launches EV fleet management platform UfoFleet

Electric vehicle (EV) rental company UfoDrive, which operates 40 EV hubs worldwide, has announced the commercialisation of its EV fleet management platform UfoFleet. 

Built for EVs and honed over five years, it enables fleets to manage EV drivers, vehicles, energy and operations.  

Aidan McClean, co-founder and CEO of UfoDrive, said: “Better software means a more efficient and effective electric fleet, and the net result is cost savings, higher utilisation, a better experience for drivers and, of course, a massive move to zero emissions.

“We have the pleasure of working with some of the real innovators, like Hertz, and we’re now helping the more cautious fleets.”

AX grows partnership with AA Insurance

Vehicle incident management specialist AX has renewed and expanded its partnership with AA Insurance Services.

Following a competitive tender process, AX’s has become AA’s secondary supplier for all daily rental services.

The daily rental services will accompany the credit hire and credit repair solutions AX has been supplying to the AA since 2019.

Since the beginning of the partnership, AX has successfully hired more than 30,000 vehicles to the AA’s customers and has managed the customer service across 919,000 rental days.

Scott Hamilton-Cooper (pictured), chief commercial officer at AX said: “We take great pride in our customer service and to see that our hard work in this area has cultivated and secured a relationship with a market leader like The AA is a brilliant result.

“Working with the AA, we will supply our specialist credit hire, credit repair and now, daily rental service to their customers – building on a successful partnership we’ve enjoyed since 2019.”

Tim Rankin, managing director of AA Accident Assist, added: “In AX we’ve selected a high quality, trusted, mobility provider to support AA Insurance and Accident Assist.

“The AA has ambitious plans for the future - we’re confident that AX will continue deliver service excellence to our customers and members.”