FastFleet Helps Public Sector Manage Fleets

Government agencies are always looking for ways to cut costs and to do more with less. Now there's a new way to save money on fleet vehicles.  

FastFleet by Zipcar was introduced last month for public sector agencies and universities,  and the company says it will save taxpayers money, reduce risk and promote sustainability.

This new service leverages the same technology that Zipcar uses for individual consumers who rent cars by the hour or day.

Employees use a reservation system over the Web, phone or mobile device to reserve a vehicle. They swipe a wallet-size access card to unlock the doors of the vehicle, courtesy of an integrated card reader mounted under the windshield.

FastFleet mirrors Zipcar's car-sharing model, but  the government agency or institution owns the cars. Using technology, FastFleet enables managers to help employees share the vehicles - and at the same time, reduce the fleet and still have enough cars available on demand. 

"It's a much more convenient way - an easier way to manage and dispatch the fleet," explained Luke Schneider, general manager at FastFleet and chief technology officer at Zipcar, in a phone interview.

"The primary reason people do this is they can save enormous amounts of money. Most fleets are built to meet peak demand. This reduces the overall utilization of the fleet - a handful of cars are used only during peak periods. What FastFleet does  - and this is the beauty and elegance of car sharing - is it opens up and makes visible the vehicles so that people who drive can plan their trip accordingly and reserve their vehicle for the time they need and no more. It flattens the demand curve."

For example, with online reservations and this "visibility" into the fleet, agencies could reduce a 100-vehicle fleet to 60, said Schneider.

Washington D.C. has used this now for four months and says it has saved more than $300,000 during a four-month pilot. It estimates it will save more than $1 million in the first 12 months of use. About 1,400 employees in 28 departments are using 60 cars in FastFleet now.

Pricing ranges from $65-90 a month for basic service, plus the cost of the hardware. Washington, D.C. spends $115/vehicle/month. The subscription service is priced per car.

"I believe that technology can be used to create efficiency and save taxpayer money," said Adrian M. Fenty, mayor of Washington, D.C., in a statement. "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."

About 4 million vehicles are leased nationwide within local, state and federal governments, estimates FastFleet. Since fleets are typically sized to meet peak demand, most of the cars sit idle most of the time. FastFleet, with its wireless connectivity, prevents that.

"This is carving out cost structure," said Schneider. "If you get rid of 30 cars, that car costs between $6,000 and $10,000 a year to keep up with finance, insurance, gas, maintenance and gas - that turns into real money."