Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group and Avis Budget Group both have expanded the availability of their electronic toll-payment tools. After launching its electronic toll-payment program in the Northeast last year
(BTN, March 20, 2006) and Chicago earlier this year, Avis Budget this month announced that it has expanded the service to Puerto Rico, will expand it to Florida this month and to Colorado later this fall. The tools in all three locations list toll charges and daily fees for the service separately from the car rental rate on the payment card. Vice president of product and program development Michael Caron said Avis Budget has more vehicles equipped with toll transponders than any other car rental company. Meanwhile, Dollar Thrifty's prepaid Pass24 toll service, already available in Houston and Dallas, now is available at Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental's metropolitan Denver locations. For an $8.95 daily fee that includes all toll charges, users gain unlimited use of toll express lanes, and charges are included as part of the car rental receipt to ease expense reporting. "Our stellar results in Dallas and Houston validate the convenience and value of the Pass24 prepaid toll solution," Rick Welch, president and CEO of technology supplier Rent A Toll, stated. "As word gets out, we will continue aggressive expansion into additional U.S. toll markets."
GM Defies Fleet Sale Deceleration Trend In August
Domestic automobile manufacturers continue to report declining fleet sales to car rental companies. For August sales, the most drastic cut came from Ford Motor Co., which reported that its daily rental sales had dropped by 44 percent, compared with August 2006. Chrysler, which finalized its split from DaimlerChrysler AG in August, reported its fleet sales to car rental companies, government entities and corporate fleets were down 20 percent. General Motors bucked the trend, reporting a 24 percent increase in its sales to rental car companies. GM executives, however, indicated that this was a one-time increase, and reported a double-digit decrease in daily rental sales for 2007 through the end of August. Auto manufacturers have sought to decrease the reduced-rate fleet sales in favor of more profitable retail sales, which have increased cost pressures on car rental companies.
NYC, Philly Cab Drivers Strike Over GPS, Card Tech
Mandated installations of technology providing a credit card payment option and interactive passenger maps prompted some taxi drivers in New York and Philadelphia to call for a 48-hour strike earlier this month. The New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission has mandated that the city's 13,000 yellow cabs be outfitted with the technology by their first scheduled inspection after Oct. 1, and many cabs already have installed the equipment
(BTN, July 23). While the devices would allow corporate card payment, drivers worried the global positioning system tools would be used to track them and that card transaction fees would cut into their pay. Published reports differed on the number of cabs off the road in New York during the strike, ranging from 20 percent to 90 percent. In Philadelphia, where drivers face a similar mandate, the strike was called off after the first day.
Enterprise Broadens FlexFuel Fleet
After piloting a program in Washington, D.C.
(BTN, July 23), Enterprise Rent-A-Car is targeting Ohio to make more alternative-fuel vehicles available. Enterprise is designating a Cincinnati location as an "E85/FlexFuel branch," where one-quarter of the fleet will be GM FlexFuel vehicles, which use fuels that are 85 percent ethanol and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 percent. In addition, Enterprise will give that same designation to branches in Columbus and Dayton. Overall, Enterprise's fleet includes 41,000 FlexFuel vehicles, and as many as possible are being deployed near E85 fueling stations, according to the company.
Advantage Adds Key Element For Stranded Passengers
San Antonio, Texas-based Advantage Rent A Car has expanded its 24-hour roadside assistance program, the company announced last month. The Highway Helpers program now includes lost key replacement for enrolled renters, in which replacement keys are delivered to renters at no additional charge. The program, available at all U.S.-owned locations for $2 to $3 per day, depending on the rental city, also assists with towing needs, gasoline delivery, lockouts, tire changes and directions.