In an effort to help address outstanding fines for traffic, parking and toll violations by car rental customers, Enterprise Holdings has once again notified more than 4,000 local governments and submitted the company's contact information as part of the public record. Enterprise Holdings, through its regional subsidiaries, operates the Alamo Rent A Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental brands.

The annual reminder directed government officials to deliver notice of any outstanding tickets and fines to the company's shared services center in Tulsa (examples attached). "Many local governments have tight budgets and rely, in part, on revenue from traffic, parking and toll violators, so delays can impact taxpayer services," explained Gary Cunningham, vice president of business management at Enterprise Holdings.

"By streamlining the turnaround of renter information, we can help cities and counties more quickly identify individuals and deal directly with those responsible for paying these fines," Cunningham stated. "We share their interest in ensuring that these citations are processed and paid promptly."

Following the 2007 acquisition of Alamo and National, Enterprise Holdings began using their centralized shared services facility in Tulsa to consolidate and process citation data at a single location on behalf of all three brands.  (Previously, Enterprise Rent-A-Car offices handled customer traffic and parking fines locally.)  Information about violators is reviewed and, whenever possible, transmitted to individual cities and counties, allowing their respective courts to enforce outstanding citations more rapidly and reduce backlogs of unpaid fines.

In some cities and counties, where car rental companies are legally required to pay violations on behalf of their customers, Enterprise Holdings' shared services center also manages that process and recovers its administrative costs via a fee from each renter.  "Obviously, no one likes administrative fees, but sometimes local laws do not allow car rental companies to transfer liability," Cunningham noted.  "Our preference is for local officials to work directly with car rental customers, because that is the most efficient and cost-effective method of processing any fines."

In some states, the ticket enforcement process is further complicated by unmanned, electronic toll booths or "cashless toll roads" that require a driver to have a local payment device to pass through legally. To help address that issue, the Alamo Rent A Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental brands offer an optional video toll pass service. TollPass Automatic provides automatic billing for customers who pass video tolling stations and generate tolls at an automated toll booth. This optional service is currently available to rental customers in Northern California, Colorado, Florida and Texas.