| New older driver rental protection insurance
Insurance4carhire.com is launching a new car insurance policy aimed at drivers over 75 hiring abroad. The insurance policies protect against claims for excess on the vehicle – including damage to tyres, undercarriage and windows , often not covered car hire companies' excess waiver policies. Larry Ursich, at Insurance4carhire.com, said: “With 75 being the new 65, growing numbers of older travellers are determined to continue driving as part of their holiday and are seeking out those car hire companies who do not discriminate against them because of their age. "But when faced with the punitive daily levy charged by car hire companies for their excess protection policy, the deal can be so costly that even the most indomitable drivers could decide it's just not worth the expense. "It's bad enough for most people, but for senior citizens who are often on a restricted budget, an expensive excess charge is something they can ill afford." He went on to explain hiring a car without excess protection is a big financial risk could lead to costs of as much as £1,000 should the rental vehicle suffer any kind of damage or be stolen.
Car rental parking at Rohlsen Airport to be moved to make room for ...
STINE LETT
Thursday, December 20th 2007
ST. CROIX - By spring 2008, the general public patronizing Rohlsen Airport will be able to park a little closer to its terminal. V.I. Port Authority board member Gordon Finch, who chairs the board's Projects Committee, said that three car rental agencies - Budget, Hertz and Avis - with concessions and parking spaces at the Rohlsen Airport, will park their vehicles off-site, freeing up about 30 parking spaces near the terminal for use by the general public. The authority had received a number of complaints about the walking distance from the public parking area, which sits behind the rental cars on the south end, to the airport terminal, he said. "That's about to change, and that's the bottom line," Finch said.
Rental Cars Won't Need Transponders to Travel Through Sunpass Lanes
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 27 -- Many rental car customers traveling on Florida's toll roads and bridges are now able to utilize 'SunPass Only' lanes to pay their tolls, even without a SunPass transponder, thanks to a pair of innovative programs announced by Turnpike officials this week. Rental car customers in Central Florida also can use the EPass lanes on toll roads operated by the Orlando- Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA), and will soon be able to use the LeeWay toll lanes in Lee County. Florida's Turnpike Enterprise has entered into contractual agreements with American Traffic Solutions and Rent A Toll, Ltd. to administer a program which utilizes license plate information to identify rental vehicles and electronically collect the toll. American Traffic Solutions is currently offering its PlatePass(R) cashless toll payment service to rental car customers using vehicles rented from Avis, Budget, and Hertz.
Mayor’s office plots $1.8B spending plan
Mayor Mufi Hannemann's administration is proposing what city Budget Director Mary Patricia Waterhouse calls a "bare-bones" $1.8 billion operating budget for next year that will not raise property taxes. The budget also calls for $831.5 million in construction and other capital costs. About $265.1 million would be spent to plan, design and break ground on construction of a new mass-transit system. 2009 City Budget Operating budget: $1.8 billion Capital improvement budget: $831.5 million Revenues From property taxes: $788 million, an increase of $27.6 million from 2008. The mayor is proposing to keep property tax rates the same and offer a $100 tax credit for qualified homeowners. Spending Retirement and health benefits: $51.9 million toward paying down an estimated $1.2 billion shortfall during the next 30 years in health and other benefits for city workers Transit: $265.1 million for planning, design and construction of a mass-transit system; $4 million to continue operation of TheBoat; $31.1 million to buy 50 hybrid buses; and $1 million for bikeway improvements Sewers and garbage: $245.3 million for sewer projects; $5 million to ship garbage off island; $8 million to expand curbside recycling Roads: $77 million for repair and maintenance of city streets Police and fire: $63,000 to start up a Honolulu Police Department parks patrol; $5.5 million for 58 patrol cars, 10 motorcycles, a helicopter and other police equipment; $4.3 million for three fire engines, two ladder trucks and other fire equipment.; $1.9 million to plan and design a new East Kapolei Fire Station Housing: $7.3 million to renovate the Kulana Nani affordable rental housing project in Kaneohe and acquire the fee interest in the land; $2 million to develop the River Street Residences in Chinatown Parks: $15.6 million for parks improvements; $6.9 million for a new Asian tropical forest elephant facility at the Honolulu Zoo.
Onorato sounds off against Republicans
Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato this afternoon blasted Republican members of County Council, accusing them of practicing "voodoo economics" because of their attempt to repeal the drink and car rental taxes tomorrow. "If the Republicans on [County Council] want to reopen the budget and repeal the [drink tax and car rental tax] I'm ready for the fight," said Mr. Onorato, speaking at a press conference in his Allegheny County Courthouse office. "They want me to give $28 million of property taxes to the Port Authority for the local match, and I won't do it. We're going to take this fight to the voters and we're going to have it out," he said. To that end, he has tapped into his campaign war chest and started a phone bank to call residents in the districts of three Republican council members sponsoring legislation to re-open this year's budget and repeal the drink tax: Vince Gastgeb, R-Bethel Park, Matt Drozd, R-Ross and Jan Rea, R-McCandless.
Dollar Thrifty Hits a Big Pothole
The problems of the car rental business are deepening. On Feb. 4, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (DTG) shares plunged 35% after the firm nearly cutting in half its expectations for 2007 profits. Dollar Thrifty's news jolted the industry, raising worries that U.S. consumers are cutting back on their travel spending. Dollar Thrifty's larger rivals, Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ) and Avis Budget Group (CAR), at one point on Feb. 4 had fallen as much as 7% and almost 14% respectively. Fears of a recession add to the difficulties for car rental firms, already battling it out in a brutal business. The car rental industry's problems are similar to those of the airline industry, which has been notoriously tough on investors. Both are highly competitive industries with high fixed costs, so they find it tough to squeeze out profits on a regular basis.
Orbitz Worldwide Signs New Distribution Agreement With Avis Budget ...
CHICAGO, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: OWW) , a leading global online travel company, today announced that it has reached an agreement with Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NYSE: CAR) to distribute Avis Rent A Car (http://www.avis.com) and Budget Rent A Car (http://www.budget.com) inventory through its Orbitz (http://www.orbitz.com) and CheapTickets (http://www.cheaptickets.com) consumer brands and corporate travel offering, Orbitz for Business (http://www.orbitzforbusiness.com). "We're pleased to renew this alliance with two car rental brands that have a strong history with Orbitz Worldwide and its customers," said Sam Fulton, vice president and general manager, transportation, Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. "As Orbitz Worldwide works to offer more environmentally sound alternatives to our customers, we're pleased to immediately make available Avis Budget Group's fleet of gas/electric hybrid vehicles." In April 2007, Orbitz launched http://eco.orbitz.com, a microsite that enables its customers to book more environmentally friendly travel.
LIVE from the CNN Rental Car Center!
I've been told that CNN has the best political team on television. (That honor used to go to the Clintons.) So tonight I'm watching CNN. Wolf Blitzer is working the big board, crunching the numbers. Anderson Cooper, meanwhile, is consulting the panel of experts (David Gergen, Jeff Toobin and Gloria Borger, among them) for analysis. The experts sit side-by-side behind laptops, along tables that look more like counters. My snarky friend Jeremy says they look like cashiers at Chipotle. That's a cheap shot. It's obvious that the arrangement is modeled after an airport rental car center. It's a clean look and it's handily hierarchical: The A-team (as in Avis team) includes Gergen, Toobin and Borger. The B-team (as in Budget) tonight includes Paul Begala, Bill Bennett and Carl Bernstein. This is a pretty strong B-team.
Onorato says gaming revenue plugged budget gap
In the midst of heated debate with Allegheny County Council's Republican members on Tuesday, Chief Executive Dan Onorato said he would not apologize for receiving $19.9 million in state gaming revenues. Mr. Onorato told council that if the county had not fortuitously received the first installment from a slots-financed state economic development fund on Dec. 31, he would have used the county's fund balance of about $17 million to plug the 2007 budget deficit. That would have left the county with little or no reserves going into this year, a perilous financial situation that could have caused a downgrade of the county's bond rating. After debate over the gaming revenue and a renewed quarrel over the new drink and rental car taxes, council Republicans said Mr.
Avis Budget Group: John Turato, VP of Technology
John Turato, Vice President of Technology for Avis-Budget Group talks about managing technical operations for a rental fleet of more than 400,000 vehicles worldwide. Turato also discusses transformation at the rental car operator, and his other role, Chairman of the OpenTravel Alliance, a group of companies developing web 2.0 standards for the online travel industry. #video-player-story{margin:0 30px 15px 30px} .
Storied Pagan-Lewis sold to Sames Crow
From one family to another; that's how the owners of Pagan-Lewis Motors Inc., one of Corpus Christi's oldest car dealerships, described the sale of their dealership to Sames Crow. "Our families were the car dealership owners of the '60s, '70s and '80s, and now as their children we are still in the business and share that common bond," said Sames-Crow co-owner Bob Crow on Wednesday. Pagan-Lewis, at 3737 S. Padre Island Drive, sells Lincoln-Mercury, Chrysler-Jeep and Subaru vehicles, and includes the local Budget Rental Car franchise. The dealership will remain open, although under the Sames Crow name, and its 50 employees also will transfer to Sames Crow. A sale price was not disclosed. Sames Crow is owned by Hank Sames of Laredo and Bob Crow of Corpus Christi. Hank Sames is the owner of Sames Auto Group, which sells Ford, Lincoln-Mercury, Mazda, and Honda in Laredo.
Budget Offers New Discounts for American Express(R) Cardmembers
PARSIPPANY, N.J., Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Budget Rent A Car System, Inc. today announced a special promotion for American Express cardmembers. Through May 31, 2008, each time customers pay for a Budget rental with any American Express Card they will save up to $50 on that rental and receive an American Express branded rewards card worth up to $100. "Budget customers expect great value," said Becky Alseth, senior vice president of marketing for Avis Budget Group, parent of Budget. "They want top-quality vehicles, great service and low prices. We think they'll take advantage of this new promotion that offers money-saving discounts from Budget and an American Express branded rewards card that can be used virtually anywhere American Express is accepted." Terms and conditions apply.
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