The Business Travel Magazine Feb/Mar 2019

CAR HIRE
and electric vehicles are heavily promoted
on its booking platform to ensure that
“environmental issues are front of mind when
our people are choosing a vehicle”.
Tech takes the lead
Technology is also allowing car rental
providers to supply more detailed
management information (MI) to both buyers
and TMCs about their car rental usage and
emissions, with increased automation also
helping to speed up some of the traditional
car hire processes.
A good example is Hertz’s new partnership
with security technology firm CLEAR to create
Hertz Fast Lane. It utliises biometric identification
to speed up the rental process with
travellers able to use just face or fingerprint
recognition at the exit gate to get on the road
more quickly. Hertz says the service, introduced
at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta airport in
December and currently open to U.S. license
holders only, can reduce the time it takes to
pick up a rental vehicle by “at least 75%”.
Innovation is also the name of the game for
Avis, which signed a deal 18 months ago to
manage Waymo’s fleet of self-driving cars. In
another move, Avis has teamed up with
Amazon and Google to allow customers to
use voice technology to make or change their
reservations. The company also has a target
of connecting all of its vehicles to the internet
by 2020 to allow increased data analytics.
Co-operation seems to be the name of the
game in the car hire sector. The major players
are working with potential competitors (such
as the ride-hailing companies), TMCs and
technology providers. This growing trend
should only benefit buyers looking for a
more joined-up approach to their ground
transport programmes.
“Rental providers are increasingly working
with TMCs to confront some of the challenges
businesses face when moving their
employees between locations,” sums up Dean
Rose from Nexus. “A less siloed approach is
required and companies should be working
collaboratively to meet the needs of the
modern day business traveller.”
Technology is allowing
car rental providers
to supply more detailed
management information to
both buyers and TMCs”
Car hire may no longer be the straightforward
proposition it once was, but
increased flexibility and choice should help
buyers to tackle key priorities such as
improving duty of care and making their
programmes more sustainable.
A case in point
Gloucestershire County Council is one
organisation that has tackled its sustainable
responsibilities head on, cutting its CO2
emissions from vehicles by around two
tonnes per month since setting up a car club.
The council introduced the club for staff
through Enterprise Car Club in mid-2018
with a fleet of eight vehicles based at its
Gloucester headquarters – the aim being to
reduce the amount employees use their own
cars (the grey fleet) for business journeys.
So far, more than 450 of the council’s
2,000 employees have signed up to use the
vehicles, which include two Nissan LEAF
electric cars, three Toyota Prius hybrid cars
and three Hyundai i20s. Club members can
book the cars by using a mobile app.
The council had already been working with
Enterprise on a long-term programme which
saw it using rental cars as a way of reducing
business mileage and emissions, as well as to
improve air quality in the county.
Will Spendlove, the council’s Commissioning
Officer, says: “The on-site car club is not only
helping us to reduce our risk, but it also
encourages our employees to use more
sustainable hybrid and electric vehicles.
“These are most useful for shorter business
trips, which are often the ones where
employees would use their own cars. We also
have flexibility to add or remove vehicles
based on our utilisation.”
44 THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM