Hurricane Harvey Victims Carless as Demand for Rentals Skyrocket

One of the more immediate challenges for Hurricane Harvey victims face is finding rental cars.

After the Category 5 storm flooded tens of thousands of cars in the Houston area, many were left stranded. Residents flocked to car-rental agencies, but found the wait for a vehicle is in the hundreds, some cases thousands, the Associated Press reported.

Rental companies plan to bring in more cars and trucks to ease the burden, after losing parts of their own fleet to the storm and giving priority to emergency workers. 

Enterprise Holdings – which includes the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands – said it has already transferred more than 4,000 vehicles to southeast Texas and plans to bring in 17,000 by the end of the month. It lost around 3,000 vehicles in the flooding and closed more than half of its 185 locations in the Houston area, which has since reopened. 

Enterprise will waive one-way rental fees for customers returning vehicles to Houston, as well as expand operating hours and bring in additional staff.

The Avis Budget Group, which operates Avis and Budget plus Budget Truck, is also moving additional vehicles to the affected areas and waiving late fees, one-way rental fees and rental extension fees, according to the AP.

According to early estimates, as many as half a million vehicles were damaged or destroyed in the storm. Houston residents are dependent on cars, with a vehicle ownership rate of 94.4 percent – higher than the U.S. rate of 91 percent – according to research firm Cox Automotive.