Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Dublin City Council (DCC) have launched a Mobility Hub pilot as part of the Smart Dublin initiative, in partnership with Enterprise Ireland’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Programme. Under the project, Enterprise Rent-A-Car will provide a shared electric car and e-bike service at the council’s Wood Quay offices, helping to reduce congestion, free up parking spaces and encourage Council employees to adopt healthier ways to commute.
The dedicated vehicles – three Nissan Leaf electric cars and five e-bikes – are available to employees during the workday. IT support for booking and managing the Mobility Hub fleet will be provided by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, part of Enterprise Holdings – an industry leader in technology and mobility.
DCC team members can reserve vehicles through a smartphone app, their laptop or PC, and can view real time information on vehicle availability. Keys to the cars are kept in the glove compartment, and access is provided through a PIN that is generated each time a user books a car. The e-bikes are also accessible through a PIN that is delivered each time a booking is made.
Owen Keegan, Chief Executive of Dublin City Council, said: “The Mobility Hub partnership with Enterprise Rent-A-Car will help the City Council to reduce its environmental impact. This pilot project is being delivered under Enterprise Ireland’s Small Business Innovation Research Programme. Our employees will be able to use shared electric mobility services to travel to meetings and events across the city during their working day.”
George O’Connor, Managing Director of Enterprise Rent-A-Car Ireland, said: “The Mobility Hub offers a flexible, scalable solution which allows users to access the right transport for a specific journey. It removes the inconvenience of processing mileage expense claims and arranging safety checks for employees’ personal vehicles. This concept will benefit any organisation that wants to manage their employees’ mobility needs while meeting environmental commitments. We look forward to extending this offering to public and private organisations both large and small.
“We are certain that Dublin City Council will quickly see the benefits that the Mobility Hub can bring. The initiative will also have positive effects on congestion in the city as employees realise that they do not need to drive their own car to work. And of course, whatever mode of transport they choose to use from the Mobility Hub, it will always be a zero emissions option.”
Enterprise’s IT management system provides full transparency to DCC administrators regarding usage and tracking of vehicles and can generate predictions of future use to improve the management of the team’s transport needs.
