Fleet briefs: Latest news from Enterprise Car Club, Kwik Fit, Brake, Targa Telematics, Applied Driving Partnership, Parksafe and Queclink

Enterprise Car Club launches in Derby

Derby City Council has joined forces with Enterprise Car Club to bring a new car club to the city.

Members will be able to hire car club vehicles from six on-street locations, 24/7. Vehicles can be booked using the Enterprise Car Club app and accessed via a smartphone.

The scheme also offers a Surrogate Driver programme which allows a person with a disability to join Enterprise Car Club and add three additional surrogate drivers to their account, giving disabled members who are unable to drive the freedom to access affordable mobility.

Enterprise Car Club’s Under 22 Plan makes the service accessible to anyone aged 19 and above who has held their licence for a minimum of one year.

Councillor Carmel Swan, cabinet member for climate change, transport and sustainability said: “We’ve been working hard to increase the sustainable transport choices available to citizens and the car club adds to Derby’s growing transport offer.”

Dan Gursel, commercial director at Enterprise Car Club, added: “Enterprise Car Club members have access to our complete network of around 1,400 vehicles. This means they can enjoy the convenience of shared mobility not only in Derby but across the country.”

The car club’s launch is supported by new electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, funded by the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Transforming Cities Fund, as well as existing electric vehicle chargers within the city.

Kwik Fit drives blood pressure awareness alongside tyre pressure checks

Staff and customers at Kwik Fit in Stretford, Manchester have received blood pressure checks, in a bid to help find the ‘missing millions’ with undiagnosed high blood pressure.

The blood pressure ‘drive’ was held in collaboration with Well Pharmacy, as part of the NHS ‘Get Your Blood Pressure Checked’ campaign.

Up to 4.2 million people in England may unknowingly live with undiagnosed high blood pressure. If left untreated, it can lead to fatal heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and vascular dementia.

Roger Griggs, communications director at Kwik Fit, said: “Kwik Fit is proud to be supporting the NHS ‘Get Your Blood Pressure Checked’ campaign, which will have a lifesaving impact. 

“Unlike an underinflated tyre, high blood pressure often has no symptoms, so we are encouraging our customers and staff who are over 40 and eligible to get their blood pressure checked for free in their local participating pharmacy.”

Entries open for the UK Fleet Champions Awards 2024

Safety-conscious fleet operators, suppliers, manufacturers and individuals are being invited to enter Brake’s UK Fleet Champions Awards 2024.

This year, Brake has partnered with Driving for Better Business (DfBB) from National Highways to deliver the awards, which recognise the achievements of those working to prevent crashes and reduce pollution caused by work vehicles.

Entries for the 2024 UK Fleet Champions Awards will close on Friday, May 31. This year’s award categories can be found here. 

Ross Moorlock, chief executive officer at Brake, said: “We know there are thousands of examples of fleets across the industry that demonstrate their outstanding commitment to road safety every day.

“If you work in one of these fleets or know someone who has gone above and beyond to reduce the number of crashes on our roads or the pollution caused by vehicles, we want to hear from you.”

Targa Telematics tops Berg Insight rating

Targa Telematics has been cited by Berg Insight as the largest provider of fleet management solutions in Europe.

More specifically, in the Fleet Management in Europe report, published by the analytics firm and now in its 18th edition, Targa Telematics ranked first among digital fleet management service providers, with more than 710,000 vehicles managed in Europe, rising by one place relative to the previous year.

Adding these figures to those of Viasat, a company recently acquired by Targa Telematics, the lead over second place opens up considerably, with almost 900,000 vehicles equipped.

Berg Insight’s analyst highlights that the European fleet management market has entered a period of growth that will last for several years, even if individual markets may experience temporary setbacks as a result of general economic trends.  

It also predicts that the number of active fleet management systems will grow by 12.4% per year, from 14.8 million units at the end of 2022 to 26.5 million by 2027.

Alberto Falcione, vice-president sales at Targa Telematics, said: “Our constant commitment to the development of cutting-edge services, utilising Machine Learning and AI models that have been refined thanks to the high number of connected vehicles managed with our solutions, has contributed to our continued growth in this sector, as highlighted in the Berg Insight report.”

Inizio targets health and safety improvements with Applied Driving Partnership

Inizio Engage has teamed up with Applied Driving to support its clinical team and other lone workers with a new mobile safety app.

The company has initially adopted the safer driving and personal safety solution called Companion+ across 65 mobile employees with a wider rollout planned for a further 115 users within its UK and US operations.

“The wellbeing of our team is of utmost importance to the business, so we are committed to identifying and using the latest health and safety innovations,” explained Kate Kelly, managing director UK and Ireland of Inizio Engage.

“With the adoption of the Companion+ Mobile Safety and it’s personal safety features, we can elevate the welfare of those driving and operating alone by providing the highest levels of assistance, engagement and support.” 

The mobile app’s SOS function allows an alarm to be raised with a swipe of the phone, while Triple Tap is a three-tap process – even when a device is in a pocket or bag – to call for help and the check-in timer schedules a check call to confirm safety.

In addition, crash detection uses mobile phone sensors, proprietary algorithms and AI to detect when a collision has occurred.

Caroline McGlynn, from Inizio Engage, said: “Companion+ will offer our mobile clinical team discreet safety and security, anytime.”

Parksafe enters fleet technology partnership with Queclink

Vehicle safety specialist Parksafe Group has entered into a fleet technology partnership with Queclink Wireless Solutions to develop telematics and connectivity systems.

Under the hardware agreement, Queclink will become a primary supplier of IoT products and solutions to the company, across an extensive range of dash cameras, tracking devices and WiFi routers.

“We needed a partner that shared our commitment to innovation and quality, so we can bring together software, hardware and support to deliver fleet technology excellence,” explained Liam Barber, sales and marketing Director at Parksafe Group.

“Queclink’s devices will be integrated with our on demand web portal, so our customers can take advantage of a seamless fleet tracking and video telematics solution tailored to their precise requirements.”

Vernon Bonser, UK sales director at Queclink Wireless Solutions, added: “We are the hardware partner of choice for a growing number of service providers within the telematics and fleet technology marketplace.

“By combining first-class products and solutions – that are powerful, reliable and affordable – with unrivalled technical and operational support, we are now a hugely attractive alternative for industry specialists such as Parksafe Group.”