Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport started service Tuesday of its new rental car facility and ATL SkyTrain.

The new center gives customers streamlined access to all of the airport’s rental car companies and their associated operations in one convenient location: a 67.5-acre facility just west of the airport. A five-minute ride on the elevated automated people mover, the ATL SkyTrain, connects passengers with the main terminal building.

“The future has arrived. Our passengers will enjoy the speed and convenience of having all rental car operations, including customer transaction counters and vehicles, in one easily accessible location,” said Aviation General Manager Ben DeCosta.

Hartsfield-Jackson is the first airport in the country to open a rental car center and its associated people-mover system simultaneously.

“More than 2 million passengers complete rental car transactions each year at Hartsfield-Jackson, so it was imperative to develop a solution to meet the increasing needs of travelers both today and in the future,” DeCosta said.

The ATL SkyTrain also will benefit people who are attending events at the Georgia International Convention Center. The ATL SkyTrain stops there on its way from the terminal to the rental car center, making it the first in the nation to connect a major airport to a convention center.

The rental car center and ATL SkyTrain will have a positive impact on the environment as well as on customers. The ATL SkyTrain is minimizing Hartsfield-Jackson’s carbon footprint by taking more than 125 rental car company shuttle buses off the streets. Removing the buses and reducing the number of rental cars on the roadways around the terminal also will improve traffic flow at the airport.

The rental car center and ATL SkyTrain are major components of the Airport’s $6 billion-plus capital improvement program. The City of Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson began planning the rental car center and ATL SkyTrain in early 2000 and started construction in 2006.