A comprehensive shift to car hire in place of mileage reimbursement has enabled London Probation Trust to dramatically reduce the cost of employee transportation as well as the risks associated with grey fleet.

In the first four months since the introduction of car rental, the Trust estimates that it has potentially reduced transport costs by £60,000 annually, saving on average £13.55 per journey.

 The Trust introduced a blanket car hire policy for its 2,500 employees after an assessment of its existing reimbursement policy (just over 60 pence per mile) revealed that rental was by far a more cost-effective option, even for short trips of around 60 miles.

 Enterprise Rent-A-Car helped London Probation Trust to assess the best car hire option, evaluating hourly car share programmes as well as daily rental and more long-term programmes.

 With employees regularly moving across 90 different locations and over 100 prisons in England and Wales, car sharing was quickly ruled out as a solution and daily rental was introduced for all business trips with a minimum 60 mile threshold. The new travel policy that has been implemented ensures that employees now only use grey fleet vehicles for short trips.

 Greg Dungan, Management Accounting Manager for London Probation Trust, said, "When Enterprise presented the car hire option to a meeting which included our CEO and 60 key stakeholders, we were strongly impressed by the business case for rental. In particular, the risk management implications were compelling.

 "Like many other organisations where grey fleet usage in privately owned vehicles emerges as the de facto practice, we had no policies and checks in place to ensure vehicles driven were fit for purpose.

 "With 90 sites across the capital and over 100 prisons in England and Wales, we are greatly dependent on road transport as part of our business operations. Combined with the potential for cost saving, we had compelling reasons to shift to a blanket car hire policy for the whole organisation for journeys over 60 miles."

 Adrian Bewley, head of business rental at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, said, "Risk is a hidden cost of grey fleet. Businesses are liable for damages and even prosecution if employees have an accident or cause injury in an in adequately maintained or insured vehicle.

 "In the case of London Probation Trust, the risk management case was more compelling than the potential cost savings because there were no vehicle checks in place for privately-owned vehicles used for business. Combined with significant cost reduction, it's an example of how car hire can make a huge difference to employee safety and mobility."

 

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