Westward Housing has signed up the RAC to provide telematics for its van fleet on a four-year deal.
The housing association owns and provides services for more than 7,500 homes across Devon and Cornwall, and runs a 56-strong van fleet to help maintain its rented homes and deliver support services to its customers.
The RAC won the competitive tender against eight other providers after demonstrating its technology has highly accurate real-time GPS mapping and was capable of providing Westward Housing with detailed 24/7 vehicle data reports. These show the status of all its vehicles, including if they’re idling, alongside thorough fuel-use analytics.
Westward Housing will use the RAC’s web-based user interface to fully monitor driving standards and maximise fuel economy as well as minimising vehicle downtime following any reported incidents being detected.
Westward’s chief executive Barbara Shaw added: “It was clear from the tender process that the RAC had the extensive telematics experience we needed to be able to monitor our fleet of 56 vans which travel many miles across the south west extremely efficiently.
“Being able to track our vehicles accurately and understand how driving behaviour affects fuel costs and vehicle maintenance requirements has the potential to make a valuable difference to the ongoing operation of our fleet.”
The RAC will install and maintain all 56 devices, adding to the tens of thousands of devices it already operates across business fleets, leasing providers and insurance companies.
Nigel Humpherson, RAC’s head of commercial and connected solutions, said: “We are very proud that Westward Housing chose the RAC to be their telematics partner for the next four years. As we provide some of the best and most accurate telematics technology available to fleets, we are confident they will be able to identify some significant efficiencies that will benefit their business considerably.
“We look forward to working closely with the team from installation right through to forging a long-term collaborative and positive relationship that delivers measurable business benefits.”
