Monday, July 25, 2011

Greater Toronto Airports Authority Slashes Fleet Size With Major Car-Sharing Initiative


Chantilly, VA, July 18, 2011 --The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) has added four additional self-service fleet kiosks at the Toronto Pearson International airport for use by GTAA staff.  The enhancement is an expansion of an initiative to reduce fleet size through car sharing, capture valuable utilization statistics automatically, enforce fleet policies and to ensure complete accountability for vehicles by securing the vehicle keys.  The announcement was made today by Agile Access Control, Inc. (Agile), creator of FleetCommander, a web browser-based fleet and motor pool management application.
 
 The GTAA first implemented the FleetCommander software and automated self-service fleet kiosks in 2008.  The goal of increasing shared use of vehicles was so successful that departments began turning in vehicles and using the centralized pool.  As a result, 25 vehicles were eliminated from the fleet, which offered significant cost savings.  In addition, GTAA staff gained the ability to make vehicle requests and access vehicles any time of the day or night. Previously, service was only available between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.  The addition of four sites with self-service fleet kiosks will further help the GTAA streamline operations and reduce costs.

 "When I first discovered the self-service fleet kiosk, I was sold," says Mike Hewlett, the GTAA's Fleet Manager.  "Despite skepticism that we could fully automate the vehicle reservation and key dispatching processes using technology, we did it with relative ease.  The savings started on day one and we haven't looked back.  We grew from five or six shared vehicles to dozens of shared vehicles.  The positive feedback from drivers and the bottom-line savings we have realized go beyond expectations."

 Agile's Implementation Manager, Phelps Rogovoy, said that FleetCommander's mature system design and support processes are what make Fleet Managers like Mike Hewlett so happy.  "The most common feedback I get when we implement the FleetCommander self-service kiosks is how easy it is to get up and running.  With the initial site, and the four new self-service kiosk sites, GTAA completed the installations without any on-site support from my team.  Our online training tools and comprehensive technical documentation really makes the implementation process easy."  Rogovoy attributes the GTAA's enthusiasm for the project as a main ingredient to their success as well.

In addition to providing secure 24 x 7 access to vehicles, FleetCommander has helped the GTAA in other ways, including:
  • Reducing the manpower required to facilitate car sharing
  • Providing quick access to utilization statistics and reports (the GTAA operates between 80 and 100% utilization)
  • Nearly eliminating use of personal vehicles for work activities since vehicles are now readily available
  • Automatically enforcing fleet policies such as the training requirement for use of electric vehicles
  • Providing accountability for all vehicle dispatches  
  • Securing vehicle keys 
The GTAA will be adding four Nissan Leafs and two Chevy Volt electric vehicles to the shared vehicle pools.  The management team is confident that the desire to drive the new technology vehicles will further increase utilization and reduce the need for vehicles assigned to individuals or departments.  Opportunities to share specialized airport vehicles and equipment are also being explored.  

About the Greater Toronto Airports Authority
The GTAA operates the Toronto Pearson International Airport, Canada's largest airport. Toronto Pearson is also one of North America's largest airports in terms of passenger and air cargo traffic.  In 2010, Toronto Pearson handled an estimated 31.9 million passengers and is ranked 4th largest in international passenger traffic.  The focus of the GTAA continues to be on competitiveness, growing the airport's status as an international gateway, meeting the needs of patrons, and ensuring the long-term success of the organization, airline customers, and the regional economy.

About Agile Access Control, Inc.
Agile FleetCommander creator Agile Access Control, Inc. is a technology company headquartered in Chantilly, Va., which serves fleet and motor pool managers in the commercial, university and government sectors. Agile's FleetCommander is a web-based application that streamlines the use of vehicles through easy-to-use software, and presents real-time data in the form of intuitive graphs, gauges, online forms, and a wide variety of reports. Resulting in lower vehicle and personnel costs and higher customer satisfaction, FleetCommander can be used as a stand-alone, customized fleet management system or integrated with an organization's existing fleet systems. For more information, contact Matthew Wade at 408-213-9555 x555 or mwade@agilefleet.com or visit http://www.agilefleet.com.

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