Drive a green rental car

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Despite its transient nature, driving a green rental car gives motorists the same opportunity to curb global climate change and localized air pollution as hybrid and alternative fuel vehicle owners.

Find it! Green rental car agencies

Whether traveling for business or for pleasure, why not take a vacation from the gas-guzzling SUV you left at home and opt to drive something a little (little being the operative word) more sensible? Reflective of the automotive buying trend towards more petite and fuel-efficient vehicles, the major domestic car rental agencies have performed green enhancements and added hybrids—and in some cases, flex-fuel cars—to their fleets.

Avis (nationwide)

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Avis offers the Toyota Prius hybrid to renters in various locations.

Bio-Beetle (Los Angeles, CA; Maui, HI)

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Bio-Beetle offers biodiesel-compatible cars including Volkswagen Beetles, Golfs, and Jettas to rental customers in Maui and Los Angeles.

Budget (nationwide)

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Budget guarantees the availability of the Toyota Prius and Nissan Altima hybrids along with other fuel-efficient vehicles to renters nationwide.

Electric Time Car Rentals (San Francisco, CA)

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Enjoy the sights and sounds of San Francisco in an eye-catching, non-polluting electric car; GPS-based audio tour is optional.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car (nationwide)

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Enterprise Rent-A-Car offers renters hybrid and flex-fuel vehicles at various locations.

EV Rental Cars (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Ana, San Jose, CA; Phoenix, AZ)

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Car rental agency with locations in Southern California, the Bay Area, and Phoenix exclusively offers hybrid vehicles—the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic hybrid, and Toyota Highlander hybrid.

Hertz (nationwide)

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The Hertz Green Collection offers five fuel-efficient vehicles that receive 28 or more miles per gallon—the Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion, Buick LaCrosse, Subaru Outback, and Hyundai Sonata—at over 50 domestic airport locations. Most recently, the hybrid Toyota Prius was added to the fleet. For every Green Collection rental, Hertz will donate $1 to the National Park Foundation.

Sunshine Rentals (Key West, FL)

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Key West rental agency offers electric car rentals alongside bikes and scooters.

Before you book

Check availability before attempting to book a green rental car. For example, after landing in Boise or Birmingham don’t expect to immediately find and rent a Prius. Avis, for instance, only offers hybrids in its California, Washington, DC, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon, markets.[1] Additionally, expect to pay more to rent a hybrid in lieu of another economy car at some agencies. These companies believe that savings in gasoline will offset the increased rate.[2]

Driving a green rental car helps you go green because...

When accelerating, a hybrid rental car will run off a battery-charged electric motor, not gasoline, curtailing global-warming-causing tailpipe emissions. Hybrids can reduce air pollution by as much as 90 percent.[3]
As concern over the cost and source of petroleum soars, hybrids have been proven to have excellent fuel economy due to advanced aerodynamic designs (which reduce wind resistance), light-weight engines, and other fuel-efficient features.[4] This is a distinct advantage for renters who plan on driving extended distances.
While at a standstill, a hybrid rental's engine shuts itself off and the vehicle runs on electricity. Every two minutes of idling in a standard car consumes the same amount of gas required to drive approximately one mile—a waste of resources and a contributor to smog.[5]
Even if you choose to drive a large vehicle with poor mileage at home, the environment in whatever locale you're visiting can benefit from your green rental car and its decreased emission of air pollutants and greenhouse gases.
Money saved at the pump when driving a hybrid on a vacation or business trip allows travelers to redirect funds on more pleasurable, non-petroleum based diversions.

Representative of the shift away from vehicles like SUVs and towards smaller, more fuel-efficient cars like gas-electric hybrids, the car rental industry has seen a swift increase of such cars on its North American lots. In 2006, “green” rental cars numbered only a few hundred; as of the summer of 2007, there were over 6,000 nationwide.[6] In June 2007, major rental agency Hertz revealed plans to spend $68 million on the addition of 3,400 Toyota Prius hybrids to its domestic fleet by 2008. Replacing 1,000 standard rental cars with the Prius will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 3,000 tons per year, according to Hertz.[1] Additionally, Hertz offers a “Green Collection” with many vehicles having been Smartway certified.[7] Enterprise Rent-A-Car—the largest rental car operation in North America[8]—claims to have an “unparalleled fleet of fuel-efficient vehicles” and added 3,000 hybrids to its fleet in 2007. Additionally, Enterprise rents 41,000 flex-fuel vehicles capable of running on ethanol to its customers. Flex-fuel cars produce around 20 percent less carbon dioxide emissions than standard gasoline-powered vehicles. [2] Avis offers both Nissan Altima and Toyota Prius hybrids at select locations, adding 500 of the former to California locations in the summer of the 2007.[9] Domestic rental agencies offering vehicles that run on alternative fuels like biodiesel and electricity have not yet risen above novelty status.

Glossary

automotive fuel economy: Fuel economy in cars is important because carbon dioxide emissions are directly related to the amount of fuel burned. "Miles per gallon," or mpg, is the way most Americans measure fuel economy, while other countries may use liters of fuel per 100 km traveled. To measure your fuel economy, fill your tank and reset the odometer. At your next fill-up, divide the miles traveled by the amount of fuel needed to refill the tank.

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