Budget EV Rental Cars Earns Blue Sky 2000 Merit Award For Green Initiatives
27 January 2000
Budget EV Rental Cars Earns Blue Sky 2000 Merit Award For Green Initiatives Award Presented by WestStart-CALSTART
LISLE, Ill., Jan. 26 -- Budget EV Rental Cars, a joint effort
between Budget Rent a Car and EV Rentals, announced today it is the recipient
of WestStart-CALSTART's Blue Sky 2000 Merit Award, in recognition of
outstanding marketplace contributions to advanced, sustainable transportation
that cleans the air, improves energy efficiency and helps reduce greenhouse
gas emissions. Budget EV Rental Cars strives to further the evolution toward
the widespread use of environmental vehicles (EVs) in the United States.
"Budget EV Rental Cars has demonstrated marketplace leadership through its
innovative model allowing the general public to experience EVs and other
alternative fuel vehicles at reasonable prices through the rental car
process," stated Michael Gage, president and CEO, WestStart.
In Los Angeles (LAX airport and Beverly Hills) and Sacramento, Budget EV
Rental Cars offers a wide range of electric and natural gas vehicles (NGV) to
environmentally conscious renters. Many of the electric vehicle models can
travel up to 100 miles before being recharged, while the natural gas vehicles
can travel up to 200 miles. There are currently more than 300 charging
stations and 125 NGV fueling stations already in service throughout Southern
California.
"We're delighted to receive this special honor from WestStart-CALSTART,"
said Jeff Pink, founder and president of EV Rentals. "We are confident that
our program will continue to increase awareness of the benefits and
environmental implications of driving clean-fuel vehicles."
In the near future, the Honda Insight hybrid (electric and gasoline
combination) will be introduced into the rental fleet. Other alternative fuel
vehicles recently joining the Budget fleet include the 2000 Ford Taurus sedan,
which are outfitted with flexible fuel engines. The Taurus sedan can run on
100 percent unleaded gasoline, E85 (a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15
percent gasoline), or any combination of the two.
In Europe, Budget was the first major car rental company to rent LPG
(liquid petroleum gas) vehicles throughout the United Kingdom, and since 1996
has been offering electric cars in Paris and Lyon and methane-powered cars in
Sweden.
About WestStart-CALSTART
WestStart-CALSTART is an advanced transportation technologies organization
that focuses on developing new, clean technologies and solutions in
transportation. Its expertise includes electric vehicles, natural gas
vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, intelligent transportation systems (ITS)
and fuel-cell technologies.
About EV Rentals
Since 1998, EV Rentals has been committed to providing commuters with an
alternative rental car choice and addressing air quality issues. Based at
Budget's Los Angeles International Airport location, the company maintains a
fleet of nearly 50 vehicles. For more information, customers can visit the
company's Web site at http://www.EVrental.com; call 877-387-3682; or write to EV
Rentals at 9775 Airport Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045.
About Budget Rent a Car
Budget Rent a Car Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Budget Group,
Inc. , is one of the world's top three car and truck rental systems.
The Budget system, which operates under the same name worldwide, has more than
3,000 airport and local market locations in over 120 countries and
territories. Budget has more than 1,000 corporate-owned and franchised
locations in the United States. Budget's WorldClass Fleet is comprised of
more than 30% specialty vehicles, ranging from sport utility vehicles,
convertibles and luxury cars to minivans, pickups and environmentally friendly
vehicles. Visit our Web site at http://www.budget.com.
