CHICAGO, Feb. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Zipcar,
Inc. (NASDAQ: ZIP), the world's leading car sharing network, and
Cook County Board President
Toni Preckwinkle, announced the
launch of a new integrated fleet and car sharing program that is
expected to save Cook County,
Illinois, more than $250,000
in annual vehicle costs and travel reimbursement in 2013. This new
program is the latest of several government transportation programs
supported by Zipcar throughout Illinois, including programs at the state,
city and county levels. These partnerships showcase how
Zipcar can help government organizations complement their existing
fleets by providing access to car sharing for employees, while
optimizing their existing fleet with Zipcar's FastFleet
technology.
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The partnership with Cook
County will promote energy efficiency and sustainability by
reducing the number of County-owned vehicles, decreasing the amount
of money spent for mileage reimbursement and increasing the number
of cars available to employees.
Through the new program, named "Shared Fleet", existing
County-owned fleet vehicles have been outfitted with Zipcar's
FastFleet® proprietary fleet sharing technology for employee use.
County employees can now use Shared Fleet vehicles from three
locations: inside a Loop garage, at the Juvenile Temporary
Detention Center and at the Department of Corrections.
Additional vehicles will be stationed at other suburban
County facilities as the program expands. Further, through Zipcar
for Business, Zipcar's business transportation solution, County
employees also now receive discounted rates and access to more than
500 Zipcars located throughout the greater Chicago area.
"With the combined use of the Shared Fleet and Zipcars, our
employees will have more efficient access to transportation to
conduct their business," President Preckwinkle said. "Over time,
we'll achieve energy efficiency by having fewer cars on the road.
The program will save taxpayers money and conserve the
environment."
"This new program between Zipcar and Cook County is another great example of smart
City-County collaboration," said Charles
Stephens, general manager, Zipcar Chicago. "We applaud
President Preckwinkle and Cook
County for their commitment to innovation and developing
smart transportation solutions that promote sustainability and
fiscal responsibility, while helping to create efficiencies. We're
proud to support so many government transportation initiatives
throughout the State of Illinois,
and we look forward to bringing on more departments to help further
reduce costs while increasing mobility."
In March 2011, the City of Chicago became the first city in the
country to integrate both the use of Zipcar's FastFleet technology
in their existing fleet and Zipcar for Business. By using this
combination of Zipcars and fleet sharing to eliminate fleet
vehicles where concentration of Zipcar can meet demand, the
City of Chicago program has
reduced their non-emergency light duty fleet by over 20 percent
(more than 950 vehicles in 2007 vs. less than 750 today), and is
netting over $500k in savings
annually.
Additionally, in October 2011,
Zipcar and The Illinois Department of Central Management Services
(CMS) announced the launch of a sustainable transportation option
for state employees through the Zipcar for Business offering.
This initiative was put in place to help support the State's goal
to reduce overall fuel consumption and promote
environmentally-friendly forms of transportation for State
business. Employees in the Chicago metropolitan area and Springfield have access to
Zipcar's hybrid and other fuel efficient vehicles to meet
State business travel needs.
About Zipcar
Zipcar is the world's leading car-sharing
network with more than 767,000 members and over 10,000 vehicles
located in major metropolitan areas and college campuses throughout
the United States, Canada, the United
Kingdom, Spain and
Austria. Zipcar offers more than
30 makes and models of self-service vehicles by the hour or day to
residents and businesses looking for an alternative to the high
costs and hassles of owning a car. More information is available at
www.zipcar.com.
About Zipcar's FastFleet® Technology
FastFleet is
Zipcar's proprietary car sharing technology that enables fleet
managers to save money, reduce risk and promote sustainability by
leveraging the same technology that powers Zipcar's consumer fleet.
The FastFleet program empowers client fleet administrators to
determine the numbers, types and locations of vehicles, which are
then equipped with Zipcar's in-vehicle technology, wirelessly
linking them to a dedicated server. Utilzing FastFleet technology
makes reserving and driving a vehicle a seamless process for
employees, while providing significant benefits to fleet managers
as well. More information is available at
www.fastfleet.net.
Zipcar, FastFleet and the Zipcar logo are trademarks of Zipcar,
Inc.
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SOURCE Zipcar, Inc.
