Car rentals: Compact, mid-size, full size… chauffeur?
Want to class up that rental car? Avis launched a new service in ten cities today, letting Avis Preferred members hire a chauffeur to drive them around.
As part of the new “Chauffeur Drive” program, the drivers are provided and billed by WeDriveU, which specializes in this sort of thing, and by not Avis.
Personally, I love the idea of someone renting a little crapbox like a Kia Rio, but insisting on having a chauffeur. Somebody please do it, if just for the photos.
But more seriously, this could come in handy if time is short, and you want both an airport pickup and the freedom to drive your own butt around town. Your chauffeur can pick up your car and be there ready to pick you up at the airport, curbside. They can also do drop-offs. Thereafter, you can drive the car yourself, as normal.
Every time you use their service, it has a three-hour minimum, but you can dismiss the driver at any time. Of course, hiring the help isn’t cheap ($30/hour), and it requires 24 hours notice.
Avis has featured chauffeur service in certain cities outside the US, such as Mexico City, for some time, but the joint venture with WeDriveU will be available in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
Details here.
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June 5th, 2007 at 9:28 am |
I think this is actually a very creative idea by Avis. It will be interesting to see what kind of demand there is for this product.
I can see some creative use of the product by consumers… Renting your car at a off-airport (city) location of Avis (to save airport charges, which can be considerable), having your driver pick you up curbside at the airport, drive your jet-lagged self to your hotel, take care of parking the thing in the hotel’s lot, then hand off the keys to the concierge. You’ve saved time taking shuttle busses to the airport’s rental car center. The car is there when you need it, and you’ve paid only $90 (less the savings from getting the car off-airport) for a hassle-free beginning to a trip.
June 5th, 2007 at 5:38 pm |
Interesting concept, though I’m not sure I would ever use the service. I think I’d rather hire a limo or take a cab if I didn’t feel like driving.
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:24 pm |
Avis is operating illegally. In New Jersey every vehicle used “for hire” (to transport passnegers), must be registered as such. Without the specific vehicle being resgistered as a limousine, taxi, bus or omnibus is in violation of NJ Statute 39:3.19.1 The driver will be fined if stopeed.
More importantly, if that car is not registered with one of the above plates, both the driver and passenger(s) will not have any insurance coverage as it becomes a “for hire” use and all traditional, commercial and other insurances becone null and void
Avis is putting the Public at a huge Risk here.
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:30 pm |
Avis is operationg illegally. In New Jersey every vehicle used “for hire” (to transport passengers), must be registered as such. Without the specific vehicle being registered as a limousin, taxi,bus or omnibus the are in violation of NJ statute 39:3.19.1. The driver will be fined if stopped. More importantly, botyh the driver & passenger(s) will have no insurance. It doesn’t matter if you have commerc ial or personal coverage. Once that vehicle is used “fvor hire”, that individual vehicle must be registered as such
Avis is putting the public at a huge risk here…
November 6th, 2007 at 3:17 am |
Bill,
Don’t you think that maybe the people running this two rather big companies might have some clue what they are doing? WeDriveU has been around for almost 20 years and Avis has a pretty decent reputation in the rental car industry.
If you happened to notice they don’t offer the service in New Jersey so any info you might have on that states laws really don’t mean a whole lot in this situation. Rental cars companies can prohibit their car from leaving the state in their contract. Therefore if the service is in anyway illegal in Jersey then I’m sure they would just not allow cars from N.Y. to cross into Jersey.
I doubt it’s an issue because the types of people who would use this service most likely have little use for Jersey.
And I’m not really sure if you have a reading problem of just a comprehension problem, but the DRIVER is “For Hire” the CAR is “For Rent”. If someone opts to use this service they are billed by Avis for the Car and then WeDriveU for the Driver.
If this is somehow illegal than paying your buddy ten bucks to drive your car to the airport and pick you up is also illegal.
When it comes to insurance WeDriveU Drivers are all covered by something like 2 million dollars worth of insurance…. So I think that settles that whole issue.
It’s a little arrogant to think you know so much more than these people that clearly put some money into R&D on this Idea. Companies like these don’t open a program in 10 huge markets across the U.S. without putting at least a little thought into the idea.
It is irresponsible to come on a website designed for sharing information without knowing what you are saying is the truth.
I have used this service and it was amazing. I had a day full of meetings and the first one was only 45 minutes after my flight landed. My Driver was waiting at the curb standing next to my Car with the trunk open. He asked if he could take my bags and then opened the door for me. I told him he could relax a bit and he said he was totally relaxed he was just making sure that everything was perfect for my trip.
On the way out of the airport he knew about construction on the main highway and asked if I minded taking service streets into downtown. After about twenty minutes asked if I minded being early. I responded no and he put the car in park, got out, and opened my door. He got me from the airport to the meeting in less than twenty minutes I had time to get a coffee, go to the bathroom, and I was still the first one in the boardroom.
He drove me for the rest of the day and was perfect. We chatted baseball and he told me some great stories about the city but he only spoke when spoken to. It was great. Way better than a cab. Faster, easier, better smelling, nicer, classier, more fun, and not a whole lot more expensive when you think about the fact that I took 13 trips around the city in 6 hours and paid about $180 buck. the airport ride alone would have cost me $35 and I never would have made it to the meeting in time. If the other 12 rides would have had fares of even ten bucks apiece the cost would be very similar. As is a never had to look for ride. I called my driver as I walked out of each meeting and he was sitting in front of the door by the time I got off the elevators. I was in busy downtown and parking is nowhere, I never could have driven myself. He did a great job providing this service.
The next day was my free day and I had planned to spend it at the hotel doing some work. Two college buddies called and asked if I wanted to go out to watch a football game and then hit a couple bars. As I agreed the Idea hit me. Rather than taking a cab out to the game and then to the bars I could have my driver drive me. I have one DUI and another could easily ruin my career.
I called WeDriveU and even though they only guarantee a driver on 24 hours notice they said they would see what they could do and I had a call back within ten minutes saying a driver would be waiting in the lobby by 1PM. Pretty quick considering is was 10:45 and I wasn’t scheduled to have a driver that day. My driver called me at 12:50 saying that he was in the lobby and I should take my time but just know he was there and ready.
I drank about a barrel of beer with my buddies that night. We traveled a total of 230 miles and we were hammered for the majority of the rides. I think the 45 mile ride out to the game was the only time I could have driven.
The service was great. But the feeling of freedom was even better.
By opening your mouth on a subject you don’t know about you risk keeping others from something they might be able to use. Don’t hurt others by opening you mouth without thinking first, it’s bad for the whole world.
May 10th, 2008 at 11:11 am |
As a former employee of wedriveu there were no background checks I am aware of besides the standard dmv read out, the company runs ads for drivers on an as needed basis and doesnt seem to be able to provide full time 40 hour weeks so far as I could tell. Local offices are not full time staffed and operations are run from their northern California telephone.
In one recent development the Wedriveu-Avis alliance has been banned at the San Francisco airport and their operations will certainly be curtailed else where as the concept does not conform to P.U.C. regs (* ref: Limo Digest Aug-07).
May 10th, 2008 at 11:37 am |
Jeff?
I dont know Bill nor do I know you, Bill refers to new Jersey law, I refer you to California PUC regs and special orders, have you read them? Perhaps you should make yourself conversant in them before you issue your ill advised personal remarks not based on the true facts and settled law governing the industry?
When one hires a car and driver regardless of this schemes attempt to circumvent the law, that activity falls under the purview of the state and local government for good reason, and wedriveu-avis are no more exempt from complying with those laws as any other livery service.
Take for instance insurance? Whose insurance applies here? The consumers who often claim personal insurance coverage at the rental counter? or Avis when insurance is declined/accepted by the consumer, or is it the wedriveu insurance that applies here, is it the $8.00 per hr, ‘driver’s’ personal insurance that affords coverage here? I think you might be surprised to find that out for yourself by calling your insurance agent and telling them you want to drive an Avis car for a third party and seek to extend coverage and see how fast your personal policy morphs into a commercial one and at what cost?
Try calling your agent and telling them some one you dont know, refered by Avis, is going to drive you about and you want that added to your present insurance?
I have this post set to notify me with your response so…please, research the issue more fully and get back asap will you?