Jan 13, 2009 7:40 pm US/Pacific
SFO Offers Incentives For Renting Hybrid Cars
SAN FRANCISCO INT'L AIRPORT (CBS 5) ―
Hybrid cars sell more in the Bay Area and California than anywhere else in the U.S. Now San Francisco is offering cash discounts in hopes that travelers will rent hybrids when they fly here.
"If you rent a car in San Francisco here at the International Airport, we are saying to you, rent an alternative fuel car," Mayor Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday. "If you do, you won't pay as much money as you would otherwise. In fact, we'll give you a $15 incentive to do what we think is the right thing."
It may be the right thing to do but is it the best deal? CBS 5 has learned that car rental companies on average, charge about $15 per day more if you rent a hybrid.
Let's say you rented a car for five days. You pay about $75 more compared to a non-hybrid. Mayor Newsom's plan saves you $15 on the entire rental. But while you save some money, the rental still costs you $60 dollars more than if you had rented a conventional car.
"It's more of a deal than if there wasn't no $15 incentive," said Lorraine Tallarico of Avis Budget. Tallarico said her company is simply passing on its costs to the consumer.
"The manufacturers still are selling those cars for a higher price than the non hybrid cars," she said. "The only way for us to survive and stay in business is to recapture at least our manufacturers cost.
CBS 5 asked rental car customer Al Moss if the plan was a deal. "No, I think that it is PR right now I believe," he said.
But the mayor's office said it's more than PR. That as rental companies acquire more hybrids, the cost will come down, San Francisco will become a green destination. The city said it can reduce its carbon footprint too.
"You will not only be doing the right thing from the environmental perspective," Newsom said, "But arguably from your own pocketbook perspective because you'll be paying less in gas."
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