Connect by Hertz receives 29 members in first month

Connect by Hertz offers the Georgia College community an opportunity to rent new 2011 Toyota Camrys on a hourly, daily or weekly basis, but few have done so since the introduction of the program in January.

Since the Connect by Hertz program debuted on Georgia College’s campus, it has only seen a small amount of measured success for several reasons.

“It’s because we have had a hard time getting the word out,” said Associate Director of Auxiliary Services Greg Brown. “But I expect this program to be huge next year because we will have more time to get the word out. We will have a table at Springfest and will be at all of the orientation sessions, so everyone will know about it.”

Another issue facing the program at Georgia College is that 90 percent of the student body has a car of their own according to Brown.

“I think they are a waste of space and money because no one is really going to use them. I would rather use my own car and gas,” sophomore history major Kelsea Luce said.

The program is geared towards international students and students that do not have cars on campus. However, it is difficult for international students to gain approval by Connect by Hertz because they do not always have a driver’s license. The DMVs in their home countries are not as organized as the DMV system in the U.S.

It takes some time for the renter to receive their Connect by Hertz member card, so they have to plan out their rentals in advance.

“It takes between six and 12 days to get your card in,” Brown said. “So there is no slack time. You have to think ahead.”

Despite these obstacles and after one month of operation on campus, 29 people have signed up to be members of Connect by Hertz and there have been 11 rentals. The average mileage per rental for the rentals was 139 miles.

Students, faculty and staff of Georgia College can sign up for free to rent a car from Georgia College’s branch of the Connect by Hertz program online on the Connect by Hertz website.

A rate starting at $8 per hour will open the doors to the car and give the driver access to a variety of special features.

These features include: gas (with a gas card included in the car), insurance, GPS turn-by-turn navigation, 24/7 Roadside Assistance, 24-hour Member Care Center and 180 free miles per day.

“I think it’s a great thing for people who can’t afford a car, but need an alternative form of transportation besides the infamous shuttle,” junior mass communication major Bob Titolo said.

Another amenity the program offers is that it has locations that are dispersed throughout the world. If you are a Connect by Hertz member you can rent a car anywhere there is a Connect by Hertz location almost instantaneously.

See connectbyhertz.com for more information.