An Exciting Year Ahead!
2017 promises to be a year of exciting change in the Fleet Industry, and we’re already off to quite a start in the mergers and acquisitions category!
Late last week Element Fleet Management Corp. out of Toronto acquired The CEI Group. CEI will continue to operate independently under the CEI name, and to be led by CEI’s founder, President and CEO, Wayne Smolda. An important part of the acquisition is that Element Fleet Management, North America and CEI will remain separate entities.
This week MetroGistics Holdings and equity partner Tailwind Capital announced the recent acquisition of AmeriFleet - and the merging of operations of AmeriFleet with MetroGistics, creating an unparalleled “one-stop-shop” for driveaway, trucking, storage, title and registration, compliance and a host of other fleet-related services.
Ted Roberts
President and Chief Content Officer
Uber and Lyft Carpooling Services Could Replace 75% of Vehicles
It's not a shocker that carpooling apps could reduce traffic congestion.
But now MIT researchers estimate that successful use of ride-share apps like Uber and Lyft could reduce the number of vehicles on the road by a whopping 75% without slowing down travel.
Using their own algorithm, the MIT researchers estimated that 2,000 four-person cars could cover nearly all (95%) of the demand for taxis in New York City, with an average wait time of less than three minutes, for example.
Fleet Forecast 2017
Fleet management, like most industries, has been completely reinvented in recent years by a dedication to analytics.
By Kristi Webb, CEO, Element Fleet Management North America
Fleet is now tech-focused. It’s data-oriented. And it’s global. All these factors will continue to drive trends as the calendar turns to the New Year.
Element Fleet expects our industry to continue evolving at an incredibly rapid pace in 2017. While there are many developments to be aware of, here are four we’re focused on as the New Year dawns:
Advanced analytics paves way for real time insights
Someday soon, a connected vehicle will send as much as 25 gigabytes of data per hour to the cloud. That’s a lot of data, especially when coupled with data from your customer orders and day-to-day operations. But how can all this information come together to provide value?
Advanced analytics offers a faster way to bring more sources of data together, delivering insights and recommendations about engine performance, weather and location, accident information and even driver behaviors – such as speeding, idling, and harsh braking – in real time.
How we keep drivers safe will continue to evolve
Mellow Drivers? Study says States with Medical-Marijuana Laws Have Lower Traffic Fatality Rates.
States with medical-marijuana laws have fewer traffic fatalities than those without, especially among younger drivers, a new study has found.
You would think crash rates might be higher, supposing that more drivers are, too — especially around midnight, when a run to a 7-Eleven becomes necessary.
But, no. Researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health found an 11 percent reduction in traffic fatalities on average when examining places that have enacted medical-marijuana laws — 23 states and the District of Columbia.
Automakers Prepare for an America That’s Over the Whole Car Thing
For decades, automakers have been able to count on a fundamental fact of American life: You pretty much need a car to get around.
But lately, novel technologies, including ride-hailing services like Uber and advances in self-driving cars, are creating new alternatives for commuting, shuttling children and going to the store — particularly in urban settings.
There are also demographic and economic trends in play. Many younger Americans do not consider owning a car a goal or necessity — or a necessary expense.
