Budget EV Rental Cars, a joint effort between EV Rental Cars and Budget Rent a Car Corp., was recognized as an "alternative fuel vehicle hero" at the recent seventh annual National Clean Cities Conference hosted by the U.S. Dept. of Energy.

"The Clean Cities concept is a good one, but frankly it's the people that make it work," said Shelley Launey, the Department of Energy's director of the National Clean Cities Program. "A fleet becomes an alternative fuel vehicle fleet because there was a champion that made it happen."

Budget EV Rental Cars is the first and only company in the United States that rents only environmental vehicles to the general public. The company has 10 locations with Budget Rent a Car Corp. in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, Palm Springs, Burbank, Ontario, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

"I decided to pursue alternative fuels because at the time I had a one-year-old son," said Jeff Pink, president of EV Rental Cars. "The smog is so bad in California, and I didn't want him to grow up with that, so I decided to do anything I could to help clean the air."

Since the company began renting vehicles in December 1998, it has served more than 13,000 customers.