September 17, 2019

What does mobility look like for your fleet?

The function of a fleet has changed over the years – much like the role of a fleet manager. No longer is a fleet the sole way of moving staff. Instead, new ideas are helping transport staff members to where they need to be in the most efficient manner possible. Enter Mobility.

Mobility is a new way of thinking about transportation. Looking beyond singular transportation methods to a multimodal, unified, and optimized, end-to-end solution that enables efficient, cost-effective movement from Point A to Point B.

Fleets today are a while away from achieving this end-state of effectively utilizing multi-modal, end-to-end solutions. To begin the journey organizations need a shift in mentality. A focus on moving people from Point A to Point B, rather than the availability and suitability of fleet vehicles, is the key change needed to begin the mobility journey.

Below are three key items to consider as you guide your fleet on its journey of mobility:

  1. Consider the journey
    Not all trips require a vehicle to complete them. Your fleet’s utilisation has likely been affected along the way through staff reserving and using your shared vehicle fleet for short distance journeys to multi-hour meetings – taking a vehicle out of availability that might have been more effectively used on a longer trip. Instead, consider if your shorter trips could be reasonably achieved via alternative transportation methods including public transport, taxis, Uber, walking or bicycle. Also consider holding remote meetings via video-conferencing to avoid the need for travel altogether.
  2. The journey begins at a staff members desk
    There are often hidden inefficiencies in fleets that can’t be addressed through traditional fleet management. If you consider that a journey begins from a staff members desk, the time from leaving their desk to accessing a fleet vehicle can be costly. Do you have staff running around the workplace trying to find the keys for the vehicle they’ve booked? Do they need to go to one side of the campus to collect the keys only to go to the other side to get to the vehicle? This can easily account for 20-30 minutes of unproductive time that costs your organisation. Look at ways to make key access faster or remove the requirement for them altogether, making the journey to the vehicle faster and simpler.
  3. Focus on your fleet’s peak and trough requirements
    Focusing on your fleet’s utilization, with consideration to peaks and base demand can highlight a new way to think about your fleet. Rather than sizing your fleet for peak utilisation, instead think about the possibility of baseline demand requirements for your fleet – and only having vehicles to meet that, with peak demand being offloaded to third party car share services and car rental. MaaS vehicle share services are becoming common in many cities and leveraging these vehicles for on-demand and peak capacity can reduce the overall cost of your fleet and ensure you are maximising potential utilisation of your fleet.

Want to know more about what mobility could look like for your fleet and how Smartrak can support you in the journey? Fill in the form below.

 

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