Drive-IT helps Local Government cut vehicle usage costs

  • New Drive-IT local government sector initiative highlights the strong role car pool management can play in UK vehicle sharing initiatives
  • Helps local authorities reduce the number of vehicles needed

Drive-IT Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cybit and the UK’s leading provider of end-to-end solutions for car pool management, has launched a new initiative targeting its comprehensive software solution for vehicle sharing at the local government sector. Working with Drive-IT, local government organisations of all sizes will be able to improve their vehicle utilisation and productivity, achieve greater visibility of their overall fleet usage and reduce operational costs by minimising the actual number of vehicles a local authority needs. Typical local government applications could include social schemes, community transport programmes and departmental vehicle pools. The Drive-IT solution is also ideal for role-based vehicle sharing such as home nursing, elderly care and Social Services.

Drive-IT’s car pool management system provides users with a central, Internet-based booking and administration solution that is particularly easy-to-use – allowing local government drivers to book vehicles via the Internet, through a call centre, or even directly from the vehicle. Drive-IT controls the hardware and back-office components needed to book, administer and manage all a local authority’s vehicle pool needs, and offers clear benefits for local government finance and fleet managers as well as individual users. Typical benefits include:

  • Financial savings – through increased individual fleet usage, reduced need for parking spaces and vehicle depots, the ability to cross-charge vehicle use to different departments, and reduced expenditure on personal mileage claims
  • Vehicle fleet effectiveness – better control and visibility of fleet investment, accurate vehicle time usage, proof of vehicle and driver usage for timesheets and reporting
  • Individual flexibility and ease-of-use – with simple, keyless entry to pool vehicles, access to the right type of vehicle for the journey, 24/7 vehicle booking via the Internet, and an accurate record of miles driven for security and billing

"Vehicle fleets are one of the most expensive local government assets, and they cost even more when they’re not fully utilised. Whether a local authority or council has 2,000, 200 or 20 vehicles on its fleet it makes good sense to use them effectively," commented Colin Cartwright who heads up the Drive-IT Systems business for Cybit. "With Drive-IT we can help local governments to optimise vehicle pool management, potentially cutting the actual number of vehicles used and reducing the space in car parks and local authority depots that they take up.

"We’re also ideally placed to help local authorities encourage the use of different and more appropriate types of vehicle for individual journeys. Drive-IT is particularly easy-to-use, so a Social Services manager could use an electric vehicle for an urban journey and a more efficient LPG-powered vehicle for a longer journey. Until now this sort of flexibility hasn’t been possible in the local government sector," added Colin. "At a time when local authority planners are actively working to reduce vehicle congestion by cutting available parking spaces on new-build projects, it makes good sense for local authorities to adopt new vehicle pool management techniques that allow them to set the standard in this area."

Using the Drive-IT solution, local government vehicle users can just turn-up, get in the vehicle using the system’s Smart Card keyless access module and drive away. This flexibility means that drivers need only book a vehicle for the time they actually need rather than reserving it for a whole day. The system’s ability to track accurate vehicle time usage means that local government fleet managers now have a full record of what vehicles were used by which drivers – giving them far better control and visibility of their fleet investment. According to Colin Cartwright: "this can make a real difference in encouraging drivers to take the right sort of vehicle for the job they have to do. We believe effective vehicle pool management can make a real difference for fleet managers and their drivers, and over the coming months we’ll be working closely to help make the Drive-IT approach a reality for local government authorities across the UK."

Drive-IT Systems is a leader in the provision of end-to-end solutions for car sharing and vehicle utility management. The company takes a lead role in the vehicle sharing sector, and has identified some of the key benefits that pooling can offer – particularly the role it can play in addressing the increasingly complex challenge of tackling congestion on Britain’s roads.

The Drive-IT vehicle sharing solution is made up of a range of fully-integrated components including a booking platform, an access module that supports the use of smart cards to gain entry to a vehicle, and an on-board display terminal that incorporates a particularly user-friendly menu system. An in-car communications module then links the vehicle to the booking platform via the GSM mobile phone network.

About Drive-IT Systems:
Founded in 1999, Drive-IT Systems is a leader in the provision of end-to-end solutions for car sharing and vehicle utility management. The company was acquired by Cybit in 2002. As a Cybit company, Drive-IT takes a leading role in the Vehicle Sharing sector, and the company is an important strategic addition to Cybit’s expanding portfolio of open platform telematics and fleet management solutions.

About Cybit:
Cybit is a leading Internet-based Telematics Service Provider (TSP) and supplier of fleet and asset management solutions to the business-to-business sector. Cybit’s solutions portfolio includes vehicle tracking and management, lone worker support and car pool management. Hundreds of companies across a wide range of industries already use Cybit’s online solutions to improve the management and control of their fixed and mobile assets. Additional information is available at www.cybit.co.uk

For more information please contact:
Andy Gray
IBA - PR for Cybit
Tel: 01780 721433
agray@iba-europe.com

Sophie Geering
Marketing Manager, Cybit
Tel: 01480 389100
sgeering@cybit.co.uk