Top Stories
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Thrifty rescinds offer for free car rental
TransportThrifty Car Rental says it’s sorry, but many customers who were offered a free one-day rental won’t be getting that after all. The company says the offer was intended for a select group of top customers but was sent accidentally to many other people. “We’re very sorry for any confusion our eagerness may have caused,” [...]
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Sandy blamed for Atlantic City’s drop in visitors in early 2013
TransportTourism experts are blaming the effects of Superstorm Sandy for a steep drop in visits to Atlantic City during the first four months of the year. A new study from the South Jersey Transportation Authority finds there were far fewer passengers on planes and trains, and fewer casino buses and cars heading into town than [...]
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Virgin Cars? Richard Branson makes move on Advantage rental-car business
TransportRichard Branson’s Virgin Group Ltd., the travel and entertainment conglomerate, wants to enter the U.S. rental-car business by buying the assets of the Advantage brand that Hertz Global Holdings Inc. was ordered to divest. Virgin sent a letter dated June 7 to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission expressing its interest as the FTC decides whether [...]
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Avis Budget corporate customers will soon get rate hikes like leisure travelers
TransportWith Hertz, Avis Budget Group, and Enterprise wielding about a 98% airport market share in North America, the three companies can raise rental rates with near-impunity, and they are enjoying the new-found freedom that consolidation has delivered. So far it’s been leisure customers who have felt the brunt of the rate increases, but rate hikes [...]
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UberX slashes fares to compete with taxi e-hail and ride-sharing services
TransportOn-demand transportation startup Uber is making a serious commitment to its UBERx service, making on-demand rides with hybrid cars and community drivers less expensive. Today on the Uber Blog, the company confirmed what we reported last week — that it will be cutting fares on UBERx rides in an effort to be more competitive with [...]
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FlightCar and airports argue over what’s innovation and what’s just cheating
TransportInnovative startups will always run smack into dissension from existing companies and old regulations. But there’s a difference between creating a new market and cheating the system, and FlightCar is walking a thin line. On June 7, the San Francisco city attorney’s office filed a lawsuit against the airport car rental and parking service on behalf of [...]
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Black cars now allowed to pick up street hails in NYC outer boroughs, court rules
TransportNew York State’s highest court on Thursday reinstated the city’s plan to expand street-hail taxi service beyond Manhattan, overturning a lower-court ruling that had stalled the action last year. The decision cleared the way for the city to issue up to 18,000 “hail licenses” for livery cabs in northern Manhattan and the other boroughs — [...]
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New York’s most recognizable cyclist on the city’s new bike style
TransportThe New York Times’ Bill Cunningham has been riding his bicycle and photographing the fashions of New Yorkers for almost as long as there have been bicycles and cameras. This week he takes a look at how the new CitiBike share program is fitting in with the city’s existing bike culture.
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Beijing to raise taxi fares 30 percent, amidst severe shortage during peak
DestinationsBeijing will raise taxi fares for the first time since 2006 to boost driver incomes after customer complaints that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to hail a cab in China’s capital city. Starting from June 10, the base fare will be increased 30 percent to 13 yuan ($2.12) for the first 3 kilometers (1.86 miles), the [...]
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Best and worst airlines and cards for miles, points and redemption
TransportYour rewards credit card, of course, is in your wallet. But where are the rewards? Do you know how many points you have, how you can use them and when they might expire? Probably not. “The good news is most people collect miles,” says Brian Kelly, proprietor of ThePointsGuy.com, a site dedicated to maximizing consumers’ [...]
