TC Cleaning Services Receives Keys To The Toyota Prius
TC Cleaning Services currently runs a fleet of almost 100 vehicles, of which 70 are Toyota Prius hatchbacks. It started using the Toyota Prius in 2007, and is currently upgrading from second generation to third generation models.
Based in Walton on the Hill, Surrey, TC Cleaning Services has been operating for 50 years. Clients include Tesco, Sainsbury's, New Look and Budgens. Over 4000 members of staff are employed by the company across 1200 sites across the UK. Managers who oversee the contracts are provided with Toyota Prius models. Area managers drive Prius T3 models and regional models are provided with top of the range T-Spirits complete with leather trim.
The vehicles are purchased outright and supplied by Motorline Toyota Gatwick, with Toyota garages across the UK and Northern Ireland providing maintenance.
Prior to switching to hybrid vehicles, TC Cleaning Services managers mainly drove Mercedes Benz A Class models.
"Prius has proved cost-efficient for the company, because both our fuel and maintenance costs have decreased," says Fleet Administrator Lynne Davies.
Talking of TC Cleaning Services managers, Lynne says: "There has been nothing negative - they can all see the positives of using Prius. Once drivers get used to the hybrid concept, they're absolutely fine."
"Toyota has tweaked the things that needed changing - it's more refined, provides more choice as to how to drive, has a deeper boot and the heads-up display is fantastic - that's a bonus I wasn't expecting."
"Even for an expanding fleet like ours in the midst of fuel rises, the cars have held their own very nicely. It's only in the past nine months with such steep rises in petrol prices that costs have been pushed up."
"We have trackers in the vehicles, so it's relatively easy to calculate the savings since we started to feed Prius in - and the difference is marked."
Lynne explains that for the drivers, the change "made a financial difference in terms of tax, and Prius was a larger, more comfortable car,".
"Our CEO has said that he wishes to work towards an all-hybrid car fleet – although it will probably take a few years to achieve this goal," says Lynne.
"There's no going back to conventional cars for us - only pushing forward to achieve our aim of a fully hybrid car fleet."
