Aimed at helping reduce traffic congestion, vehicle emissions and commuter expenses, Enterprise-Rent-A-Car plans to expand its Atlanta Rideshare program by nearly doubling its metro area fleet of 110 vanpool vehicles over the next year. This vanpool capacity is equivalent to taking 2,200 cars off the road, says the company.
Enterprise is an approved vanpool provider through the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), which assists 13 Georgia counties that exceed Federal Clean Air Act standards for ozone and particulate matter. On average, 1,250 people currently participate in Enterprise's vanpool program in Georgia each month. Company participants include Allstate, Coca-Cola, Georgia Power, Google, Home Depot, Sprint and Travelport GDS. In addition, individual commuters can be matched with existing vanpools.
In Atlanta, Los Angeles and other markets in the U.S., Enterprise helps companies create vanpool programs for their employees, transporting more than 25,000 riders per day. Under a typical company program, seven to 15 co-workers ride together, each paying one low monthly rate, according to Enterprise.
The Rideshare program is part of Enterprise's broader commitment to greener driving in the Atlanta region and throughout the country. In April 2008, for example, Enterprise announced the designation of four "green branches" in Atlanta, where the fleets offer a higher concentration of hybrid gas/electric vehicles and other fuel-efficient vehicles. Enterprise has added a significant number of hybrids at these locations.
Enterprise, together with National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car, all owned by the Taylor family of St. Louis, has a comprehensive environmental sustainability program in place, ranging from clean technologies (hybrid and fuel-efficient cars) to car-sharing programs. The company also is underwriting the planting of 50 million trees over the next 50 years.
