Feb-March 2003

Cybit, the telematics company that took over Fleetstar from Trafficmaster a year ago, has now expanded further by acquiring Swedish-based Drive-IT, a leading systems supplier in the car pool market.

Drive-IT produces an Internet-based booking and administration for car pool operators, allowing them to handle bookings made either online or directly from a car in the system. Its product range includes in-vehicle hardware and software, a communications system, a central database, a billing system, remote vehicle diagnostics and a fleet management system.

Clearly there are parallels with Cybit's own product range, although the Drive-IT system is much more finely targeted.

Formal car pooling is in its infancy in the UK, although early Drive-IT users include Edinburgh City Car Club. But in Sweden, town councils are said to own 30,000 pool cars, and the expectation is that pooling could gradually replace traditional company car schemes.