“The Government’s Spending Review has inevitable implications for local authorities and it will encourage many councils to step up and review their transport arrangements going forward.   Without doubt they will need to make sensible cuts and adjustments where possible. As such, we expect to see more councils seeking advice as to how to make their travel more efficient, especially in relation to reducing their grey fleet.

“However, it is important to remember that travel will still remain an essential element to the public sector in fulfilling their responsibilities.  Therefore, reviewing travel policies and adopting a range of alternatives to manage efficiency is a far better response than any knee-jerk cost cutting that could result in a reduction in necessary travel.

“Even before the review, public sector organisations have been approaching us with a view to helping them develop a more efficient transport strategy.  In particular, introducing integrated transport policies that either use a broad mix of travel solutions through public transport and rental, or more innovative schemes like our car sharing programme WeCar.  In our experience, used in place of mileage reimbursement, which simply transfers expenditure from a travel budget to a personal expenses budget, a better considered travel policy can help remove cost whilst also assisting organisations in meeting some of their other targets like CO2 reduction.”

Rob Ingram Director of Business Rental, Enterprise-Rent-A-Car

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