eCorporate Travel has a clear objective – to become Scotland’s first carbon neutral chauffeur company. With the arrival of the first batch of Toyota Prius hybrid hatchbacks and a flood of support from bluechip corporate clients, it believes it is well on the way to achieving its goal.
The company based in Loanhead on Edinburgh’s southern outskirts, is a self-contained offshoot of Edinburgh Executive Travel which has been offsetting its Mercedes saloon and people carrier emissions for the past 2 years.
Although eCorporate Travel has been building the foundations since the beginning of 2010, it began operations at the start of February with their striking white Toyota Prius’ with new livery and logos.
The service is already being used by blue chip corporate clients in Edinburgh and the Lothians and while the company has committed to taking on at least 14 Prius cars this year, it is ready to order more if other prospective clients come on board.
“The feedback has been phenomenal.” said Sales Director, Russell Gray. “Almost every company now has a Corporate Responsibility to green issues. By using eCorporate Travel, they can reduce their carbon footprint whilst not compromising on service or price. Our proposition isn’t just about the environment but about exceptional service also. Our fully uniformed, courteous chauffeurs assist our clients throughout their journey. Our clients get a high level of service as well as the environmental kudos. As an aid, every eCorporate Travel client will receive a regular report showing their carbon savings they are making compared with their previous transport arrangements”.
eCorporate Travel’s investment includes a new bespoke booking system and an iPhone app for end-users. Once a car is booked and allocated, the passenger can track in real time on a map exactly where their car is located in real time and the app counts down its arrival time. All bookings are account customers only and an account can be opened through the website www.ecorporatetravel.co.uk. “We want to make things easy and convenient for our clients and investment in our bespoke booking system reflects this.” said James.
eCorporate Travel says that carbon emissions using the Toyota Prius (89g/km) undercut by 62% of those of a standard hackney cab (244g/km). Assuming an average of eight 10km journeys a day, the company estimates this would save 3000kg of carbon dioxide a year – equivalent to the energy needs of a three-bedroom house for 6 months.
Through Trees4Scotland, the company also promises to plant enough native trees to offset more than double the expected emissions of its clients and aims to achieve “Oak Status” for each qualifying corporate. This would signify the offsetting of 73 tonnes of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of driving 820,000km in a Toyota Prius.
Low Co2 emissions apart, the Toyota Prius offers the latest in luxury and technology with a combined fuel economy of more than 72mpg. Standard futures include automatic air conditioning, seven airbags, electric windows, eight-speaker CD player, rain sensing wipers, Bluetooth, head-up display, Touch Tracer controls, smart entry and start with the addition of leather upholstery throughout.
Ecorporate Travel – Corporate Travel with a Conscience
