What developments have there been in the past few years that have been particularly valuable to fleet managers who have to meet the needs of disabled drivers?

The Equality Act 2010 and before that the Disability Discrimination Act have been absolutely crucial in protecting the rights of disabled people. The fleet industry has certainly responded by offering greater choice and accessibility of services.

The growth of companies like AVH has made it much easier for fleet managers to obtain adapted and wheelchair-accessible rental vehicles.

These suppliers are experts in this field and provide fleet managers with expertise in vehicle adaptations, so that they can specify the right vehicle and adaptations for a driver’s requirements. AVH has led this step-change. The ever-widening range of adapted vehicles available for rental has also helped fleet managers meet the needs of their disabled drivers.

You seem to be pioneers in the delivery of rental cars to disabled drivers

With more and more disabled people aware of their rights – this is creating a groundswell of demand to which the fleet and rental industry must respond.

We are busy extending the range of vehicles that can be adapted, and are working in partnership with fleet managers to understand their requirements. We are also making it easier to rent adapted and wheelchair-accessible vehicles online.

For example, the AVH vehicle reservations system, launched in 2010, streamlines the booking, management and invoicing processes. It provides fast and simple access to adapted or wheelchair-accessible vehicles for rental, fleet, leasing and insurance companies.

This, in turn, makes the selection of these vehicles a simple and swift process, eliminating any barriers to supply, which is crucial to ensure these organisations comply with disability discrimination legislation, as well as enhancing their own customer service experience and brand reputation.

The new system, which sets the benchmark for all aspects of the rental of adapted cars and wheelchair-accessible vehicles, provides on-line booking and a quick quote capability to allow the rental costs to be confirmed before booking.

Users of the system have access to information about every vehicle in the AVH fleet and all the adaptations that can be fitted, enabling them to accurately select the right vehicle and adaptations to suit the disabled driver’s needs.

The system can be integrated into a daily rental, fleet, leasing or insurance company’s core systems. This makes the selection of adapted cars and wheelchair accessible vehicles the same simple process as with conventional vehicles.

The system also incorporates enhanced management information, telephony features, route planning, asset and driver deployment tools, movement tracking and live remote transaction monitoring.

This, we believe, is the future of integrating adapted and wheelchair-accessible vehicles into the mainstream fleet manager’s offering.

How can Nexus and AVH help fleet managers?

The Nexus Group comprises several businesses focused on delivering high-quality vehicle rental services and system solutions across the spectrum of daily rental activities. If you are a buyer, a provider or a seller of daily rental services, the Nexus Group has a service to make your business more efficient and profitable.

Nexus Vehicle Rental

Nexus Vehicle Rental works in partnership with all the major rental companies in the UK as well as more than 80 local, regional and specialist providers. This means we can meet all the vehicle rental needs of our customers, from one-day-one-way to 90-day plus.

Our customers and suppliers benefit from free use of our unique web-based rental management system, IRIS. Delivering unrivalled functionality and efficiency, IRIS offers the unique facility to book rental vehicles by CO2 banding – allowing businesses to offset carbon emissions for the vehicles they rent.

IRIS also features the unique ‘Mileage versus Rental’ tool which provides users with an instant answer on the most economic solution for drivers – private vehicle or rental.

All they have to do is enter the vehicle type, expected total mileage and mileage allowance paid to employees. If rental is the cheaper option, they simply click the ‘rent now’ button on the IRIS application and receive email and text confirmation in seconds.

A huge national supply chain means we can guarantee vehicle availability and competitive rates, including specially-adapted cars and vans for disabled drivers. So whatever the vehicle requirement – cars, commercials refrigerated vehicles, from the mundane to the bizarre – Nexus can source it.

AVH: Leading the adapted car and wheelchair-accessible rental vehicle market

Adapted Vehicle Hire (AVH), the UK’s largest supplier of adapted cars and wheelchair-accessible vehicles, has led the way in the replacement vehicle sector since its foundation five years ago.

It has set the standard for high-quality customer service and support, backed by experts who understand the short-term vehicle needs of disabled drivers and passengers.

In 2010, AVH was acquired by Nexus Vehicle Rental, one of the UK’s leading vehicle rental providers. As a result, there has been a significant investment in the AVH business to enhance its services for daily rental, fleet, leasing and insurance companies that need to be able to respond to their disabled customers.

As well as extending the fleet of adapted cars and wheelchair-accessible vehicles available from AVH, and enhancing the facilities at its specialist workshop where vehicles are adapted to the specific needs of each individual driver, the Nexus acquisition has led to a major upgrade of the AVH reservation system. This makes it much easier for corporate, fleet and insurance users to select adapted and wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

“Nexus makes rental easy – they do things the right way for business, not just the way they’ve always been done. It’s a different way of thinking that reduces processes and the risk of errors and, crucially, saves money.”