Car rental companies and technology vendors are boosting availability of and options for global positioning systems that help road warriors navigate unfamiliar cities. Hertz this year is adding to its fleet 10,000 new NeverLost devices, onboard GPS systems powered by the Magellan GPS, bringing the total number of navigational units it offers to 50,000. Meanwhile, Cendant-owned Avis Rent A Car, through a partnership with Motorola Inc., in the past year rolled out cell phone-based navigation systems to 60 cities in North America. However, the car rental company would not disclose exactly how many systems it now offers.
Both offerings are comparably priced at less than $10 per day and offer the same core functionality, namely "turn-by-turn" directions to specific destinations. Yet, the car rental vendors take different approaches to the systems.
While Hertz offers onboard devices, affixed to rental car dashboards, Avis provides a GPS unit based on portable cell phones. As such, Avis said its units are available with all vehicle types in its fleet, while Hertz's offering is embedded in vehicles and available primarily with the "midsize and up" segments of its fleet, a spokesperson said.
Powered by Motorola's Viamoto software, the Avis GPS device "literally talks them through directions to a destination, broadcasting street names and maneuvers along the way," Avis said in a press statement. However, since the Avis offering is cell phone-based technology, it is susceptible to the same potential connection and service issues faced by any cell phone user, primarily the possibility of weak signals.
While Avis would not disclose specifics on how many systems it has made available and what percentage of renters select the option, a spokesperson said, "we've never run out" and "the take rate on them continues to rise, making them more popular." Both Avis and Hertz said they would continue to add systems, following demand.
As availability of the systems broaden, both Avis and Hertz said they will continue to upgrade their GPS offerings. Avis said it is ramping up security functionality of the devices. A spokesperson said the system now can download Amber Alerts and also keeps a constant link to emergency services personnel through a one-touch button.
Hertz, meanwhile, continues to add locations available through the system. "We've expanded the mapping functions to include many more small and out-of-the-way roads," a spokesperson said. "We've also increased the number of destinations that travelers can access. We're now at 1.3 million destinations. These are places travelers need to go to: gas stations, restaurants, hotels, but also a lot of points of interest as well as emergency services like police and hospitals."
High-speed Wi-Fi provider Wayport last week announced a preliminary agreement with Hertz to offer directions through the NeverLost system to nearby wireless Internet hot spots.
While Hertz and Avis have been the most aggressive in adding GPS systems to their fleet to keep travelers on track, Vanguard—owner of Alamo and National—in March said it was testing a portable GPS-type device available for all car classes
(BTN, March 29). The company did not return phone calls for an update. Meanwhile, Budget Rent A Car, also owned by Cendant, has yet to provide GPS functionality to customers.
Hewlett-Packard global air and car supplier manager Kevin Iwamoto said the technology is worthwhile, but not necessary to keep travelers on the beaten path. "I definitely think there's value in it, especially if you're a salesperson or are meeting in a city you're not familiar with," Iwamoto said, "but Mapquest.com is equally as competent and that's free."
Iwamoto added that Hewlett-Packard has neither encouraged nor discouraged travelers from employing GPS systems in rental cars. "I don't think we have a clear-cut policy on that," according to Iwamoto. "Certainly if you need it, you realize you will pay more for it. It's not something that we would standardize, saying that everyone should have a GPS in their car."
Getting Lost Will CostThe car rental companies said there is a cost to getting lost while on business. As such, both Hertz and Avis have been targeting their GPS units to business travelers, warning of the cost of navigating unfamiliar cities and quelling concerns of getting lost.
Avis and Motorola this year commissioned a survey of 1,000 travelers, which found 65 percent said they consistently find some cities difficult to navigate, and 57 percent said getting lost is among the worst things that can happen on a business trip.
The study, conducted by Bert Sperling, originator of the "Best Place to Live" surveys, showed that the roadways of many popular business travel destinations are difficult to navigate. The top five included Boston, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Baltimore and New York.
"Further, nearly 70 percent of travelers agree getting lost can negatively impact the outcome of their business meeting," the survey said, "and 93 percent said that arriving late to a business meeting as a result of getting lost makes a poor impression."