Sharing vs Access: Enterprise CarShare Weighs in at "Disrupting Mobility Summit"

ST. LOUIS -- November 13, 2015: Yesterday afternoon, Enterprise CarShare participated in a panel discussion – headlined "Access & Mobility to Cross Income, Digital, and Land Use Divides" – and held during the Disrupting Mobility Summit at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Mass.

The session focused on how local transportation providers can better meet the needs of under-served communities, including low-income neighborhoods, older adults and disabled consumers, as well as rural and suburban households. The diverse panel featured Enterprise executive Kyle Sabie, as well as the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, the National Conference of State Legislatures, Transit Screen, SilverRide and Hopista.

"Because Enterprise started as a neighborhood operation, we have always been very engaged at the local level," explained Sabie, Corporate Rental Manager for Enterprise CarShare. "And that's precisely why we view car rental and car sharing as an integral part of the local transportation infrastructure in towns and cities of all sizes. Regardless of whether we're providing access 24/7 with a quick card swipe, or offering customized service from a bricks-and-mortar facility, our service has always been a direct reflection of local demand and consumer preferences."

Last spring, at the 2015 International Car Rental Show, Sabie represented Enterprise on another panel, "The Convergence of Car Sharing and Car Rental," which highlighted the industry's important role in the evolution of urban mobility. In reference to the "convergence" panel, he noted, "At its core, car sharing is a car rental transaction, whether you rent for an hour or a week, and whether you do it in person or digitally."

Sustainable Transportation Alternatives

Enterprise CarShare operates as an extension of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand, which covers more than 5,000 fully staffed neighborhood branch offices in the U.S. alone. These affordable and accessible offices – all located within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population – provide transportation options to a wide variety of consumers, including those who rely on mass transit during the week in large urban markets, as well as those who simply cannot afford to purchase or maintain a vehicle on their own.

Enterprise's longtime focus on sustainable local transportation alternatives also includes car sharing, vanpooling, online ride-matching and other services. For example, Enterprise CarShare is available in more than 35 states, and offered through more than 125 university campuses and hundreds of business and government agencies across the country. U.S. programs range from Washington D.C. and Brooklyn, NY, to Boston and San Francisco.

Zimride by Enterprise, the largest web-based ridesharing and carpooling network in North America, serves customers through a private online ride-matching network of more than 130 universities and corporate campuses. In addition, Enterprise Rideshare offers vanpooling services to more than 35,000 riders in nearly 40 key U.S. markets. Earlier this year, Enterprise Rideshare partnered with the Community Transportation Association of America to create and expand vanpool programs across the country.

Furthermore, Enterprise has a long history of fighting unfair taxes on behalf of its car rental and car sharing customers. In 2010, Enterprise sponsored a study, "Effects of Discriminatory Excise Taxes on Car Rentals – Unintentional Impacts on Minorities, Low Income Households, and Auto Purchases." The study found that not only do car rental taxes have a significant impact on low-income populations, but that there is also a disproportionate impact on minority households. Today, Enterprise is a member of the Curb Auto Rental Taxes (CART) Coalition, which opposes excise taxes that unfairly target car rental and car sharing customers to fund unrelated programs and projects.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car also is committed to providing a range of Adaptive Driving Devices for customers with disabilities. Adaptive Driving Devices include hand controls, left foot accelerators, spinner knobs, and pedal extenders – all available at no extra charge. While Enterprise Rent-A-Car uses good faith efforts to satisfy such requests as soon as reasonably practical, two to three business days' notice may be required.

Sharing vs Access?

In July, another Enterprise executive, Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President Greg Stubblefield, participated in a Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) panel discussion, "Differentiating Brands in a Sharing Economy." As reported in the media, much of the discussion centered on definitions and whether "access" might actually be a more accurate and appropriate term – since the wrong terminology can confuse the media, elected officials and other leaders, as well as influence important public-policy decisions like special tax exemptions and free parking in public spaces.

Next week, Stubblefield will revisit some of these issues as a keynote speaker at the Phocuswright Conference in Hollywood, Fla. The conference attracts leaders and decision-makers from throughout the travel industry. "We'll be talking about how the concept of access is changing in the transportation ecosystem," Stubblefield stated. "What will happen next is a question of how we – as transportation providers – choose to operate. Going forward, the key to growth and success is using new technologies to deliver transportation solutions the way consumers want to access them."

Enterprise CarShare is a natural extension of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand, which is owned by Enterprise Holdings – the largest car rental company in the world as measured by revenue, fleet and employees. Enterprise CarShare offers a variety of clean, well-maintained vehicles at an affordable price, when and where customers need them, whether it is for an hour, a day, a weekend or longer. Enterprise CarShare also offers fuel-efficient vehicles, delivering car-sharing technology's speed and economy to organizations looking to enhance their fleet management operations along with their fiscal and social sustainability initiatives. Other transportation services marketed under the Enterprise brand name include Enterprise Rideshare, Enterprise Car Sales, Enterprise Truck Rental, Zimride by Enterprise, Exotic Car Collection by Enterprise and Motorcycle Rental by Enterprise, as well as Enterprise Fleet Management.