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Zipcar's New Business: Municipal Fleets Zipcar Inc. announced in early February a new partnership with the city of Boston to launch a new fl eet-sharing program called FleetHub. Through this program, a number of existing city-owned fl eet vehicles will be outfi tted with Zipcar's proprietary car-sharing technology for use by city employees.
Through the FleetHub program, Boston has combined vehicles once dedicated to city departments to create an interdepartmental fl eet. By deploying Zipcar's platform in these vehicles, as well as im- plementing Zipcar's self-service online reservation and secure ve- hicle access system, the program is expected to help the city gain new effi ciencies and reduce costs. With a focus on fl eet modern- ization and sustainability, the program is also likely to help dispose of older, under-utilized vehicles. Boston selected Zipcar as its fl eet technology provider through a competitive bidding process. The program will initially be launched as a six-month pilot, in which the city plans to extend to more vehicles following successful implementation. By utilizing Zipcar technology, Zipcar says the city of Boston will be able to design and confi gure its fl eet footprint in real time for optimal utilization; manage critical activities including preventive maintenance, fueling, billing and fl eet dis- tribution; and analyze usage and diagnostic data. Zipcar's technology has already been adopted through similar initiatives in Washington, D.C. and the city of Chicago.
Avis Named 'World's Leading Business
Car Rental Co.' for 6th Consecutive Year Avis Rent A Car was recognized as the "World's Leading Busi- ness Car Rental Company" at the 2011 World Travel Awards. The honor marks the sixth consecutive year that Avis has received the award for excellence in customer service, business performance, product expansion, innovation and creativity.
At regional ceremonies held previously, travel professionals also honored Avis as "North America's Leading Car Hire," for the sixth year in a row, and the "Caribbean's Leading Car Hire," for the fourth consecutive year.
Avis was also named the winner in the following categories: World's Leading Luxury Car Rental, North America's Leading Lux- ury Car Hire, South America's Leading Car Hire, Europe's Leading Business Car Rental Company, Middle East's Leading Business Car Rental Company, Asia's Leading Car Hire, Australasia's Leading Business Car Hire, Indian Ocean's Leading Car Hire, Africa's Lead- ing Business Car Rental Company and Egypt's Leading Car Rent- al Company.
The World Travel Awards was launched in 1993 to acknowl- edge and recognize excellence in the global travel and tourism in- dustry. Votes are cast by 213,000 travel professionals including travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organizations in more than 160 countries across the globe.
12 ARN • MARCH / APRIL 2012
Zipcar Stays in Black, U.K. Slows Gains Zipcar Inc. reported on Feb. 14 that fourth quarter reve- nue increased 21% to $62.9 million compared to $52.1 mil- lion in the prior year period, and full-year revenue increased by 30% to $241.6 million from $186.1 million in 2010. The company reported a fourth quarter U.S. net income of $3.9 million, compared to a loss of $1.1 million in the pri- or year period, and a full year 2011 U.S. net loss of $7.2 mil- lion versus a loss of $14.1 million in 2010. It was the compa- ny's second consecutive quarter of profi tability. Zipcar reported that revenue growth in the 2011 fourth quarter resulted primarily from a 25% increase in member- ship to more than 673,000 members at quarter end. "During the 2011 fourth quarter we continued to see strong year-on-year growth in our North American markets offset in part by slower growth in our U.K. operation as we completed the integration of the acquired operations," said Ed Goldfi nger, chief fi nancial offi cer. For the 2012 fi rst quarter, its seasonally slowest period, the company expects revenue in the range of $58 million to $60 million. U.S. net income is expected to range from a net loss of $4 million to a net loss of $5 million. Zipcar expects 2012 full-year revenue in the range of $290 million to $296 million, with U.S. net income expected to range from $2 million to $6 million.
Nelson Makes 'Top 25 Most
Infl uential Executives' List Ronald L. Nelson, chairman and CEO of Avis Budget Group (ABG) was featured in Business Travel News' annual list of the "Top 25 Most In- fl uential Executives" for the second consecutive year.
Nelson, who has served as the chairman and CEO since 2006, was recognized for his leadership role in ABG's 2011 acquisition of Avis Europe. According to Business Travel News, executives named to the list for 2011 were chosen for hav- ing made decisions that "had farther-reaching in- fl uence in a turbulent time."
"Reuniting Avis and Budget to make them truly global brands has been an objective of ours for many years," Nelson said. "In 2011, market conditions were fi nally right for us to take this important step forward to help drive sustained growth for our shareholders while improving our customers' experience around the world."
NELSON
