Original post date: April 30, 2009
WASHINGTON – Washington, D.C., the first city in the country to adopt Zipcar's new FastFleet system, estimates it has saved more than $300,000 during a four-month pilot. As expansion plans are underway, the District of Columbia estimates it will save more than $1 million in the first 12 months. The new service is designed to enable government and other fleet managers to save money, reduce risk, and promote sustainability. With FastFleet, for the first time, fleet operators may leverage the same technology that powers Zipcar's consumer fleet.
"FastFleet has allowed us to better optimize our fleet, and we will continue to evaluate our existing fleet and look for additional cost saving opportunities," said Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty.
FastFleet's vehicle access enables fleet administrators to easily transition from inefficient, dedicated vehicles, to high efficiency shared vehicles with no reduction in availability for drivers. Additionally, FastFleet-equipped vehicles can be located in a distributed network of locations, instead of a centralized "depot." Employees use an intuitive reservation system over the Web, phone, or mobile device to select and reserve vehicles. A swipe of a wallet-size access card unlocks the doors of a reserved vehicle, courtesy of an integrated card reader mounted under the windshield.
"At a time when governments across the country are being asked to do more with less, FastFleet makes it easy for them to quickly and easily reduce costs while still meeting the mobility needs of their employees," said Scott Griffith, Zipcar's chairman and CEO.
"Sharing a fleet of small, new, fuel-efficient cars helps keep pollutants out of our air and water," said George Hawkins, director of the District Department of the Environment. "Every quart of oil, set of tires, and pair of wiper blades has an environmental cost. Using fewer vehicles will lower that cost."
FastFleet mirrors Zipcar's car-sharing model with one key difference: FastFleet does not supply the vehicles. Instead, client fleet administrators determine the numbers, types, and locations of vehicles, which are then equipped with FastFleet's in-vehicle technology, wirelessly linking them to a dedicated FastFleet server. While FastFleet makes reserving and driving a vehicle easy for employees, the benefits to fleet managers are even more significant, according to Zipcar officials. FastFleet's administration console enables visibility and control over the vehicles in the fleet.
More information is available at www.fastfleet.net.
