ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--When PhillyCarShare was acquired by Enterprise Holdings last month, the announcement created headlines and raised questions about how a former non-profit, community-oriented car-sharing program would fit in with the largest car rental company in the world.
As a result, Lee Broughton, the head of corporate sustainability for Enterprise Holdings, recently posted a column titled “What’s Next for PhillyCarShare?” on the www.DrivingFutures.com blog. The Driving Futures website highlights the long-term sustainability initiatives of Enterprise Holdings, which owns and operates the flagship Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand as well as the National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands.
The Driving Futures site also underscores the inherent sustainability in offering car rental service right where people live and work since 1957. “With 5,500 branch offices located within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population, we operate more than twice as many neighborhood locations as our nearest competitor,” explained Broughton, a presenter at this summer’s Corporate Eco Forum annual meeting in Washington, D.C., and one of the keynote speakers at the 2011 Car Rental Show. “That means we not only offer affordable, accessible and flexible local car rental service in more towns and cities than anyone else, but we also represent a hugely significant part of the value chain for bringing alternative-fueled vehicles to the mass market.”
For example, Enterprise’s local car rental branches enable millions of consumers to try late-model, fuel-efficient models and even new technologies, including electric vehicles and hybrids, for consideration of purchase or just out of curiosity. In fact, Enterprise is uniquely positioned to use its unparalleled network and environmentally friendly car rental options as a sort of “petri dish” to promote new alternatives and prove their feasibility in the marketplace.
Furthermore, Broughton stated the following in the company’s Aug. 9, 2011, announcement:
“…Enterprise’s legacy underscores the sustainable nature of our longtime grassroots strategy from a social, environmental and economic perspective. Partnering with PhillyCarShare is just another example of our ongoing commitment to innovative, sustainable local transportation solutions and our approach to doing business for the long term.”
With that in mind, Broughton provided his perspective on the www.DrivingFutures.com blog:
What’s Next For PhillyCarShare?
Recently, Enterprise announced the acquisition of PhillyCarShare, which serves more than 13,000 members in the Philadelphia area. It created a lot of buzz, not just in Philadelphia, but across our industry, and for good reason.
The fact is, the PhillyCarShare model aligns quite nicely with the grassroots, locally-focused model that has fueled Enterprise’s growth for the last 55 years. It’s really all about creating economic value for our business and customers in ways that also creates value for society, and especially local communities, by addressing their needs and challenges. While this “shared value” concept has recently been brought to the forefront by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer in the Harvard Business Review, it’s been part of Enterprise’s DNA for decades.
This focus on creating value at the local level is what’s made joining forces with PhillyCarShare such a natural extension of our business. To that end, we’ll be operating PhillyCarShare right alongside our B2B WeCar by Enterprise car-sharing program, our local Enterprise Rent-A-Car offices, and our Rideshare vanpooling and carpooling commuter services, all of which are collectively designed and integrated to meet the total transportation needs of consumers and business customers from coast to coast.
Consumers and business customers can count on us for something else as well. We will not ease up on our fight against discriminatory car rental taxes, which many elected officials still market as a “visitors tax” but in reality target both out-of-towners and local residents. As you know, these taxes are owed whether vehicles are rented by the hour, the day, the week or longer. (More background on this issue can be found in our Oct. 29th “Enterprise Holdings Stands Up for Car-Sharing Customers” press release and our Aug. 9th PhillyCarShare announcement.) So, we’ll continue to fight unfair car rental excise taxes in Philadelphia – a city synonymous with standing up against “taxation without representation” – and throughout the country.
Moreover, we understand that our company succeeds only if the communities where we do business likewise succeed. As a result, we buy cars and supplies locally, hire locally and pay local taxes. We also support local causes like the United Way, the Urban League and PhillyPatientRide. And, of course, we strategically and reliably provide sustainable local transportation solutions – and that includes using our resources to enhance the PhillyCarShare fleet, increase the number of parking spaces and even more effectively serve the needs of the Philadelphia community for the long term.
Since then, Broughton also has added the following in response to several PhillyCarShare members’ comments:
....only three weeks later, there have been no pricing changes and we've already refreshed the PCS fleet with more than 130 new vehicles. Beyond that, PhillyCarShare members are able to take advantage of a special Enterprise Rent-A-Car discount. Also please keep in mind that economic sustainability is an integral part of our “shared vision,” as noted in the Aug. 8 Philadelphia Inquirer article. And, just as former PCS Chair Jacob Smith stated in our press release, we believe that our company’s financial strength – combined with our car rental expertise and well-established grassroots approach – makes this an ideal partnership for PhillyCarShare’s members, staff and partners as well as the Philadelphia community at large.
About Enterprise Holdings
Founded in 1957, Enterprise Holdings is the most comprehensive service provider and only investment-grade company in the car rental industry, operating Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental, as well as its flagship Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand. With annual revenues of $12.6 billion and more than 68,000 employees, Enterprise Holdings owns and operates, through its regional subsidiaries, more than 1 million cars and trucks, making it the largest car rental company in the world measured by revenue, employees and fleet. Ranked No. 17 on the Forbes “Top 500 Private Companies in America” list, Enterprise Holdings is owned by the Taylor family and headquartered in St. Louis. For more information about Enterprise Holdings, visit www.enterpriseholdings.com. For more information about Enterprise Holdings’ environmental stewardship and long-term commitment to the sustainability of its business, visit www.DrivingFutures.com. This news release and other announcements are available at the Enterprise Holdings press room.