Hybrid Rental Car Rebate in San Francisco

If you travel to the great city of San Francisco for business or leisure, you may want to opt for a hybrid vehicle when choosing your rental car. These days, visitors who choose to rent a hybrid at the San Francisco International Airport will receive a $15 refund. No, $15 wont get you much in this expensive city, but you could maybe score one drink at the Bourbon And Branch.

The refund is part of an incentive sponsored by the city to encourage the use of more hybrid vehicles. Car rental companies will also get a great deal, with a 20% decrease in airport concession fees if they increase their hybrid rentals to 15% of their total rentals within one year. That will likely mean the companies will offer renters additional special incentives for renting the hybrid vehicles.

Much like paying to donate blood, I think that paying people to use more environmentally friendly transportation won’t work in the long run. If you’re getting $15 back for renting the hybrid, but the hybrid costs $30 more than the economy car (hybrid rentals typically cost the same amount as a full-sized car) then many people won’t be convinced. But I think if you have to rent a car, you should be environmentally conscious in your decision. Opt for the Prius over the Hummer, or whatever. Fifteen dollars is surely better than nothing.

The rebate is per rental, not per day. So if you’re renting for one day, you get a $15 rebate. If you’re renting for five days, you get a $15 rebate.

With approximately 2 million cars rented each year at SFO, switching to hybrids could make a real environmental impact. This initiative will cost $2.1 million a year, and will be funded by the revenue the airport receives from car rental company leases.

Via Upgrade: Travel Better

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