A world-first trial delivering Bluetooth audio safety messages to South Island rental car drivers has won a national award.
A collaboration of GO Rentals, Ministry of Transport, New Zealand Transport Authority, HMI Technologies and Resolve has taken out the Charted Institute of Transport and Logistics’ ‘safety, security and environmental innovation 2016 award’.
The trial started earlier this year for GO Rental customers on route between Christchurch and Queenstown.
GO Rentals general manager James Dalglish says feedback on the trial has been “incredibly positive” from both Kiwi and international customers.
“Without a doubt this trial is a world first and is certainly groundbreaking from that perspective. I think this has a massive future and could shape the way forward for many years to come,” he says.
He adds that the industry has been doing “a huge amount of work” to further educate overseas guests on road safety.
“There have been a number of initiatives put in place,” says Dalglish. “There’s no silver bullet here. It’s a combination of all these initiatives together that will make a difference over time. But this trial has the ability to make a lasting impact on our industry.”
The trial has had no shortage of customers as tourism is at record levels and demands for rental cars keeps rising. National guest nights jumped 6.4% to 2.45 million in August from the same month last year, the highest ever recorded for the month according to Statistics New Zealand.
Dalglish says that Go Rentals is processing the feedback from customers and that once the survey’s full results have been collated the company will have a better idea as to its next steps. “The initiative may continue along the route and be implemented in other parts of New Zealand – currently 60 devices are being used across Go Rental’s fleet in South Island,” he says.
