Drivers can then tap their city badge on to unlock the vehicle and check it out.  Photo courtesy of Local Motion.

Drivers can then tap their city badge on to unlock the vehicle and check it out. Photo courtesy of Local Motion.

Zipcar's acquisition of Local Motion, a car sharing technology company, has resulted in the termination of its existing contracts with municipalities.

Local Motion provides hardware, a mobile app, and an online platform for motor pool management. The company announced it had been acquired by Zipcar on Aug. 13.

As a result, the City of Sacramento, which signed on two years ago, is looking for a new motor pool solution after the company terminated its contract in July. The company removed products that had been installed on 15 vehicles shortly after contract termination, said Isena Garcia, program specialist, who handles fleet contracts for the city.

The city has reverted to a manual motor pool reservation system for the vehicles with the technology. The city uses manual reservations for the rest of its motor pool vehicles.

"We’re looking for a replacement for the Local Motion [technology] but as of yet haven't determined what that's going to be or who that’s going to be," said Mark Stevens, fleet manager for the city.

The company also terminated its contract with the City of Orlando in July. Daryl Greenlee, fleet manager for the city, said the hardware for 10 vehicles was still in transit at the time and not yet installed. The city had planned to add the company's devices to 60 vehicles.

The city will continue with manual motor pool reservations while it looks into other solutions. Greenlee said he was told the product would be reintroduced in a few months, and he is waiting to test that product while investigating products from other companies.

Zipcar declined to state its future plans about product reintroduction, but Lindsay Wester, public relations manager for Zipcar, said, “We are extremely excited about integrating their service and their abilities and all of their knowledge into our product.”

A representative for Local Motion could not be reached for comment.

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Thi Dao

Thi Dao

Former Executive Editor

Thi is the former executive editor of Government Fleet magazine.

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