More Than 7,000 U.S. and Canadian Local Governments Contacted About Traffic Fines, Outstanding Tickets

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In an annual effort to help address outstanding fines for traffic, parking and toll violations by car rental customers, Enterprise Holdings has notified more than 7,000 local governments in the United States and Canada and submitted the company's contact information as part of the public record. Enterprise Holdings, through its regional subsidiaries, operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental brands.

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The ongoing effort directs government officials to deliver notice of any outstanding tickets and fines to the company's shared services centers in Tulsa and Toronto (examples linked: U.S., Canada). "We continue to see positive results from streamlining the turnaround of this information. It enables us to help local officials quickly identify individuals who owe fines so they can work with them directly to collect payment," said Gary Cunningham, senior vice president at Enterprise Holdings.

"We know these cities and towns depend on revenue from traffic, parking and toll violators, so costly delays in collecting these fines could impact important taxpayer services," Cunningham added.

Following the 2007 acquisition of Alamo and National, Enterprise Holdings began to consolidate and process citation data on behalf of all three brands at its shared services centers. (Previously, Enterprise Rent-A-Car offices handled customer traffic and parking fines locally.) Information about violators is reviewed and, whenever possible, transmitted to the proper government officials, allowing their respective local courts to enforce citations more rapidly and reduce backlogs of unpaid fines.

Laws differ from state to state and municipality to municipality. In some locations, car rental companies are legally required to pay violations on behalf of their customers while other communities enable companies to transfer liability to those responsible for the traffic fine.

"Our continued preference is for local officials to work directly with car rental customers – it's the most efficient and cost-effective method for processing fines," Cunningham explained.

Automatic Toll Options
In some locations, the ticket enforcement process is further complicated by unmanned, electronic toll booths or "cashless toll roads" that require the driver to have a local payment device to pass through legally. As a result, the Enterprise, Alamo, and National brands continue to offer a service that allows customers to drive through video tolls worry-free. TollPass™ Automatic is available to car rental customers in Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Colorado, Northern California, Washington, Vancouver, British Columbia and Toronto, Ontario.

The convenient service provides efficient automatic billing for customers who drive through video tolling areas and automated toll booths. Costs include a $2.95 fee for each day the TollPass Automatic service is used, up to a maximum fee of $14.75 per rental transaction, plus all incurred toll charges.

However, if Enterprise, Alamo, or National customers do not pass through any tolls, they are not charged for the service that day. "The expanded use of TollPass Automatic should greatly reduce the number of unpaid tolls and the cost and inconvenience they cause for our customers. It will also enable them to travel hassle-free across bridges with video tolls," said Rob Hibbard, vice president of airport business development for Enterprise Holdings. "TollPass Automatic is designed to be consumer friendly, convenient and affordable."

Hibbard added, "Meanwhile, we continue to work with local governments to help ensure that any toll violations or outstanding fines for traffic and parking violations are paid quickly."

In addition, transponders are available in select U.S. markets (such as in the Northeast and North Central areas) where video tolls are not available. Transponders are radio-frequency identification-based systems that automatically pay bridge and road tolls. They are available to Enterprise, Alamo, and National car rental customers at a daily rate, plus all incurred toll charges. Other consumer options may include paying cash at traditional toll stops or avoiding automated toll roads altogether.  

About Enterprise Holdings
Enterprise Holdings and its affiliate Enterprise Fleet Management together offer a total transportation solution. Combined, these businesses – which include extensive car rental and car-sharing services, commercial truck rental, corporate fleet management and retail car sales – accounted for $15.4 billion in revenue and operated 1.3 million vehicles throughout the world in fiscal 2012. Enterprise Holdings, through its regional subsidiaries, operates the largest fleet of vehicles in the world through a global network of more than 8,200 airport and neighborhood locations under the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent A Car, and National Car Rental brands. Its affiliate, Enterprise Fleet Management, provides full-service fleet management to companies and organizations with small- to medium-sized fleets. Other transportation services marketed under the Enterprise brand name include Enterprise CarShare, Enterprise Rideshare, Enterprise Car Sales and Enterprise Commercial Trucks. Enterprise Holdings is the largest car rental company in the world as measured by revenue, fleet and employees.

SOURCE Enterprise Holdings