More hybrids are coming to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.
The Avis Budget Group said Thursday that it will for the first time add 25 Toyota Prius hybrid cars to its local rental fleet by July.
The new cars, which are powered by the combination of an electric battery at slow speeds and a gasoline engine at higher speeds, are growing in popularity as gas prices rocket to record levels. The Avis and Budget rental-car brands share one fleet, so customers can rent a hybrid from either company as they’re available. The group has a total of 2,500 hybrids out of a nationwide fleet of 375,000 vehicles.
Rates generally go for $15 to $20 higher compared to similar-sized cars without the hybrid feature.
The Hertz, Enterprise, National and Dollar rental-car brands already offer hybrids at the airport and elsewhere around North Texas.
--David Wethe
Hybrid cars are ideal for airport rentals. That is because hybrids are at their most effective, energy-economy-wise, when moving in stop-and-go traffic at low speeds.
While some airport renters head out of the city to towns nearby, most stay within the city -- in stop-and-go traffic at low speeds.
On the other hand, many people renting cars at non-airport locations tend to use them for inter-city travel, for which hybrids are much less effective.
Posted by: Used Cars David | June 26, 2008 at 05:56 PM
That's good news. I wish my airport would take some positive steps like that.
Posted by: Hybrid Car Rental | December 04, 2008 at 03:25 PM