The University of Manchester’s School of Earth & Environmental Sciences today revealed that it has saved around £2,000 on its travel costs in its first year by switching to Enterprise for daily and international vehicle rental.
The School has adopted Enterprise Rent-A-Car as its primary supplier for both its business travel and field trips in the UK as well as for hiring 4x4s as part of its frequent international fieldwork, which in 2017 included 18 research trips across Europe.
In addition, a dedicated Enterprise Car Club vehicle is now based on campus for use by staff and postgraduate students taking shorter journeys in and around Manchester. The School previously used a combination of daily rental and grey fleet for shorter journeys in the UK, which the Enterprise Car Club vehicle has replaced.
Dave Norwood, fieldwork administrator at the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Manchester, said: “Many of our staff and postgraduate students need to stay mobile in a wide range of locations and require different vehicles. Enterprise has been able to provide rental solutions for all of our requirements to date.
“We now rent everything from rugged four-wheel-drive vehicles, complete with removable backs for overseas fieldwork, to a car club vehicle at our Manchester campus that’s available 24/7, all of which can be easily booked online and offer total flexibility. Working with Enterprise saves the School money on travel, speeds up the process and helps ensure our journeys are more productive.
“Enterprise Car Club is not expensive for our younger postgrads to use, and as Enterprise manages all the maintenance and servicing we no longer have to deal with the complexities associated with our duty of care when using personal vehicles. Other departments at the University have already expressed interest in how we’ve made our travel work better.”
Adrian Bewley, assistant vice president of business mobility UK & Ireland at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, said: “Universities have a broad set of travel requirements that can range from a car for an hour or two to more specialist vehicles for longer periods. We’ve developed our services, locations and vehicle range to meet those needs, saving money and time for customers and ensuring the right vehicle is available in the right place at the right time. As it is all supported by tailor-made technology, we can also provide detailed data that enables organisations like universities to fine-tune their travel policies over time.”
