The Academy has 12 fleet vehicles plus two buses and one minibus. We cannot always match a request for a specific type of vehicle. Our protocol is to assign a smaller vehicle rather than a larger vehicle. Below are the capacities for each vehicle type.

 

•SUV – seats five, including the driver

•MINIVAN – seats eight including the driver

•PASSENGER VAN – seats 12, including the driver

•MINI BUS – seats 26, including the driver

•BUS – seats 40 or 42, including the driver

 

If you wish to drive any of the Academy’s fleet vehicles (including golf carts), you must submit driver-approval paperwork to the Finance Office. Please reach out to Sue Neal to start the process.

 

The Facilities team employs trained and licensed individuals to drive the three buses. Any trip requiring a bus must be driven by one of these licensed individuals (unless chartered). We expect that all reservation requests for fleet vehicles will include the name of the approved faculty/staff driver(s). The Facilities team does not provide drivers for fleet vehicles.

 

Signing out vehicles is coordinated by the Facilities team. To initiate sign-out requests please contact vehicles@deerfield.edu. Please include the following information in your email: date of reservation, destination, travel purpose, times of departure from and return to the Academy, driver name(s), and total number of travelers (including the driver). Requests are confirmed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please no phone requests unless there is an emergency.

 

For ease, copy and paste the below into a blank email to ensure all information is included in your request:

 

Date of reservation:


Destination (be specific):


Purpose of trip (be specific):


Departure from DA time:


Arrival back to DA time:


Total number of travelers (including driver):


Driver(s):

 

When planning your travel, it is important to know that we do not allow vehicles to be driven and parked at the airport or car rental facilities. Depending on the circumstances and staffing availability, the Facilities team may be able to accommodate student group trips to the airport by providing a driver. See the Gas/Fuel section below on how to fuel during multi-day trips.

 

To assist in the situations of lost, stolen, or missing keys, all vehicle key rings are equipped with an Apple AirTag. By accepting the set of keys for your vehicle reservation, you accept that the keys may be tracked and agree to not purposefully tamper, damage, or remove the AirTag from the keys. Please do not attempt to pair an AirTag with any personal device.

 

Facilities will routinely maintain gas levels in all fleet vehicles; however, we are not always able to keep up with demand, especially during the busy school year. If you gas up a fleet vehicle using personal funds, you are entitled to submit a receipt for reimbursement. Fuel purchases for personal vehicles used while traveling on Academy business are not eligible for reimbursement, but rather you will be compensated on a per-mile basis for the trip. Please see the Finance Office for more information.

 

If Academy vehicles are taken on multi-day trips, Facilities will provide a WEX gas card that is to be used for purchases of fuel. A WEX card is the preferred method of payment for filling Academy fleet vehicles, as the cards are linked to individual vehicles and help us track fuel usage and efficiency. The card is not to be used for purchasing fuel for other vehicles or for any non-fuel purchases.

 

Keys may be picked up in the Shipping & Receiving office during business hours. After hours or on weekends, contact Security for assistance with picking up keys.

 

While keys may be picked up in advance of a reservation, vehicles should be picked up at the reservation time. Our fleet is very busy and often fully booked, and we are not able to accommodate early pickups. Additionally, vehicles should be returned to the Chen parking lot at the end of the reservation regardless of the return time, with keys and gas card (if applicable) deposited into the dropbox at the bottom of the exterior Chen stairs. Please do not park vehicles anywhere on campus outside of their designated parking spaces or at residences overnight. 

 

When you return a vehicle, you are expected to remove personal items and clean any spills or debris. Trash bags are provided, and we encourage you to use them.

 

If you are aware of damage to the vehicle (body, interior, mechanical systems, safety systems) or if any dashboard warning lights turn on during your reservation, please alert Facilities promptly at the time of return or via submitting a School Dude work order.  If you are in an accident with the vehicle, once immediate health and safety arrangements are assured, you should contact the Deerfield Academy Security team for guidance.