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Rental car loophole enables companies to rent and sell recalled vehicles
TransportRental companies would be barred from leasing or selling vehicles to consumers that are under a manufacturer’s recall until the defect is fixed under a bill introduced Thursday by a bipartisan group of senators. Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski joined Democrats Chuck Schumer of New York, Barbara Boxer of California and Claire McCaskill of Missouri in [...]
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What a $24 billion car rental market means to the U.S. travel economy
TransportWhat are car rental companies’ roles in the travel economy? They support the domestic automotive industry, provide transportation for urban locals and travelers, support tens of thousands U.S. jobs, and foster career growth. This, according to one executive at Enterprise Holdings, the world’s largest car rental company in terms of revenue, fleet, and employees. Bryan [...]
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Hertz Q1 revenue rises 24 percent on quick lucrative Dollar Thrifty integration
TransportHertz Global Holdings Inc. posted a first-quarter profit on Monday after losing money a year earlier, as rental revenue rose driven by its acquisition of Dollar Thrifty last year. The car-rental company’s adjusted profit and revenue were better than analysts had been expecting. The company earned $18 million, or 4 cents per share, for the [...]
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Airport car rental startup FlightCar picks up $5.5 million
TransportSeeking to disrupt the $10 billion airport car rental business, FlightCar, a sort of Airbnb for airport rentals, allows travelers leaving town to make their cars available for those who are visiting. …it has raised a $5.5 million Series A round, with a number of high-profile investors, including General Catalyst, Softbank Capital, Airbnb founder and CEO Brian [...]
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Car rentals in Los Angeles are 50 percent cheaper than they are in New York
TransportHere’s another reason to love L.A.: Car rental rates in the City of Angels are among the lowest of any major city in the country. The average car rental rate in Los Angeles over the last 12 months was $30 a day, according to a survey by Cheapcarrental.net. Los Angeles had the third cheapest rate [...]
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Business travelers take to taxis as rental car prices rise
TransportColby Reeves Jr. was used to renting a car to get around town on his frequent business trips. Now, Reeves says, high rental rates increasingly are forcing him to bypass the rental-car counter and head for the nearest subway stop or taxi stand. Rental car rates vary from city to city, or by the day of [...]
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SkiftSeedlings: Six startups that travelers and the travel industry should know about
TransportThis week’s startup roundup covers apps and services that aid travelers before and during a journey, but also includes operational tools for travel companies that are working to engage with travelers online and meet them where they are, which is more often than not, on their mobile device. If you know of any early-stage travel [...]
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There are few rental cars available in the northeast this week, thanks to Hurricane Sandy
TransportThanksgiving travelers who have yet to rent a car in the Northeast are out of luck: Superstorm Sandy has created a shortage. The storm has damaged thousands of cars — including those owned by rental companies. The loss of vehicles has been compounded by rising demand. Thanksgiving and Christmas are normally busy rental periods. And [...]
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Hertz moves ahead with merger after buying the majority of Dollar Thrifty’s shares
TransportHertz Global Holdings Inc. gained enough shares of stock of Tulsa-based Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. on Friday to clear the way for the completion of their $2.3 billion merger. At the close of business on Friday, more than half of Dollar Thrifty’s 29.4 million shares of stock outstanding had been sold to Hertz, executives [...]
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Car rental companies are winning the travel industry’s popularity contest
TransportAmerican travelers are increasingly dissatisfied with the nation’s airlines, but they seem pretty happy with the country’s car rental companies. For the first nine months of this year, the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics got 12,145 consumer complaints about airline services, up 33.5 percent from a year earlier. Based on complaints filed in September alone, [...]
