East Surrey Rural Transport Partnership replaces 34 of its minibuses with Enterprise Flex-E-Rent vehicles

St. Louis, Missouri, 2018-Apr-20 — /Travel PR News/ — Community transport operator East Surrey Rural Transport Partnership (ESRTP) has replaced 34 of its fleet of fully-owned minibuses with Enterprise Flex-E-Rent vehicles.

It sourced its fleet on flexible rental contracts through Enterprise Flex-E-Rent, future-proofing its services and including access to immediate replacement vehicles when these minibuses are being serviced or repaired

ESRTP is a charitable company based in Oxted, Surrey. It operates minibuses throughout the east of Surrey, providing contracted day centre, school and rural bus services to Surrey County Council and the local community.

It was established in the spring of 2006 and now has 48 minibuses and around 70 drivers, escorts, mechanics and office staff. Historically, ESRTP bought one new high quality custom-built accessible minibus per year and also bought second-hand vehicles at short notice to take on new contract work. It also had to operate two garages with four full-time mechanics to keep the fleet on the road.

It has now switched to sourcing vehicles on long-term rental through Enterprise Flex-E-Rent, and this has resulted in significant savings. The vehicles include sixteen 16-passenger-seat accessible Mercedes Sprinters, five 16-passenger-seat accessible Peugeot Boxers and thirteen 13-passenger non-accessible Ford Transits.

Surrey County Council is working with ESRTP and Enterprise Flex-E-Rent services for community transport and also employing car club vehicles to reduce congestion and improve air quality in the region. Enterprise Car Club is the sole operator for Surrey County Council and operates throughout the county, including areas such as Leatherhead, Dorking, Guildford and Woking.

Marcus Dodé, Chief Executive of East Surrey Rural Transport Partnership, comments: “Although the 16/17 winter wasn’t severe by any means, we struggled to maintain a fully operational fleet that was available to people every day. Often, it was the ancillary equipment such as power doors, steps and passenger lifts that kept vehicles off the road.

“Our management team and trustees of the charity realised that a fundamental change was needed. We chose Enterprise because of its in-depth experience in community and accessible transport: its experts were able to help us specify the vehicles precisely and delivered them on time and on budget. Enterprise also maintains the ancillary equipment and provides replacement minibuses when our fleet is being serviced or repaired.

“We no longer have the annual cost of employing mechanics, garage book-keepers, parts and consumables, vehicle excise duty and rent on two premises. And the level of service and patience we receive from Enterprise has made the process of moving away from an owned fleet simple and straightforward.

“A lot of the cost and hassle of managing a fleet has been removed and the new minibuses have been very well received by our drivers too.”

Mark Howell, Sales Director at Enterprise Flex-E-Rent, adds: “Community transport is a highly specialist area that costs local councils and providers millions of pounds a year. Making that process more efficient is incredibly important, given the essential role that accessible vehicles play in the local community.

“They often need to be built to very precise specifications and reliable service and maintenance is essential to ensure they are on the road at all times – as well as a replacement service when vehicles need to be taken away for repair.

“This is a wonderful example of how long-term rental can help organisations source exactly the vehicles they want, backed up by maintenance, repair and a replacement service. If you select a partner with the right level of expertise in accessible minibuses, it’s possible to achieve significant cost savings as well as a highly reliable service.”

About Enterprise

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is part of St. Louis-based Enterprise Holdings, which also owns and operates the National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands. In its fiscal year 2017, Enterprise Holdings recorded $22.3 billion in revenue, employed 100,000 people and operated 1.9 million vehicles. Enterprise Holdings operates more than 9,900 branches worldwide and is available in 90+ countries. Enterprise provides a range of mobility products and services through:

• Enterprise Rent-A-Car – offers daily rental for private and business use as well as replacement vehicles for the insurance sector. In the UK, the company began operation in 1994 and now operates more than 450 locations across the country and has 5,000+ employees.
• Enterprise Car Club – is one of the UK’s largest car clubs, which allows members 24/7 access to vehicles by the hour or more. The range includes vans, electric cars and hybrids, which can be accessed from 90+ branches and more than 1,500 on-street locations in 25 cities throughout the UK.
• Enterprise Flex-E-Rent – supplies a range of cars, light commercial vehicles and HGVs, including refrigerated vehicles and accessible transport under short- and long-term agreements to UK businesses from 21 locations in the UK.
• The Exotic Car Collection by Enterprise – is an exclusive service for customers looking to rent a luxury, performance or premium vehicle.

For more information visit www.enterprise.co.uk.

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SOURCE: Enterprise Holdings Inc.

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