Hertz eyes entrance into car sharing market

Hertz, the rental car giant, has been testing the possibility of entering the rental-by-the-hour market. It has recently announced that it will do so later this year. What this will mean to those who take advantage of car-sharing schemes is that the availability of cars is likely to mushroom.

The senior vice president for corporate affairs and communications, Rich Broome, didn’t divulge many details, but did indicate that Hertz would roll out its program initially in a small number of core U.S. cities. Numerous other cities, including Boston, which he mentioned, would “probably be part of a second wave.”

Broome commented: “Many people think of Hertz being primarily at airports but we also have 1,600 off-airport locations in the United States, and when we roll this thing out we will have leading-edge technology in place to be able to get customers what they want where they want it.’’

The potential benefit for travelers is clear. With Hertz having 8,100 locations currently in 147 countries, it would be reasonable to assume that customers will eventually be able to register for the car-sharing service in Boston, for example, but take advantage of their membership across the country and around the world.

The company’s entry into the market should be good for competition, also a positive factor for customers. The current market leader is Cambridge-based Zipcar, which has experienced tremendous growth, now having 200,000 registered members and operations in 50 North American cities – and in London as well.

www.hertz.com