In an effort to support public sector transport within the local community Northgate Vehicle Hire has introduced a brand new range of wheelchair accessible buses to its fleet, to help councils, including The City of Edinburgh Council, avoid spiralling costs of maintenance and the financial implications of long-term leases.
With public sector organisations facing cuts in their budgets, one large area of concern is the cost-effective provision of community transport. As part of its public sector division, Northgate Public Sector, Northgate works with public bodies and councils to offer an alternative to long-term leases.
As a means of overcoming the challenges of providing the community with quality fleet services, Northgate’s extensive fleet network provides local communities with a top of the range service. The new fleet of wheelchair accessible buses offers a cost-effective and service efficient means of assisting some of the most disadvantaged sections of the community. The fleet itself is brand new and boasts fuel-efficient Euro 5 engines, 3.8t or 5t derivatives, automatic transmissions and completely flexible seating layouts and wheelchair fixtures.
Nick Cash, Head of Northgate Public Sector, commented:-
“As market leaders in fleet solutions, we are very aware of our responsibility to the communities we operate in and we hope that the introduction of the wheelchair accessible vehicles will directly benefit the local communities in Scotland.The wheelchair accessible buses are state-of-the-art vehicles and we’re genuinely excited about the potential they might have for improving the day-to-day lives of those who really need it. In difficult economic times, we certainly think our fleet can offer the service that the community deserves.”
With most councils owning their own wheelchair accessible bus fleet or using bank funding in the form of operating leases, arrangements often mean the lifetime of vehicles can be up to 12 years. This poses the problem of dealing with ongoing maintenance costs and increasing the time that the fleet is off the road, which has a negative impact on front line services. In some of the worst cases, vehicles still tied to operating leases are being taken out of service.
Northgate Public Sector’s offering:
- Avoids significant asset purchase costs
- Employs new and modern vehicles
- Reduces the risk of costly maintenance charges
- Lessens the risk of vehicle downtime resulting in improved front line service
- Provides access to Northgate’s national service network with 24/7, 365 support
Northgate Vehicle Hire has sites across 60 locations in the UK including Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling, with its head office in Darlington.
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