APATHY and perceived pressures of work have resulted in the failure of a drive by the Association of Car Fleet Operators to have a 2,000-strong membership by the start of the new millennium.

The '2,000 for 2000' campaign was given a boost in the 1998/1999 year when membership reached about 700 and helped swell the organisation's income by more than 17% on the previous financial year.

However, at the ACFO annual meeting, Tony Leigh, ACFO chairman, admitted membership levels had not increased significantly.

'The most disappointing aspect of this is the apathy among many of those in the fleet industry,' said Leigh. 'There is a prevalent attitude that some people feel they simply look after cars and bury their heads in the sand without thinking enough about how outside forces will impact on their job.'

Another, no less serious impact, was pressure of work. Leigh said: 'A number of fleet managers tell us they cannot afford to take time off work to attend our meetings. But what they are failing to realise is that the information they can learn here does make fleet managers more effective and the changes they make in their operations as a result of what they learn from ACFO can make it more efficient and therefore free up the time to allow them to learn from the outside world.'