Category Archives: Van Hire News

News and special offers from other UK van hire and rental companies.

Northgate Reports Stable Hire Fleet Utilisation

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Van hire specialist Northgate has reported stable fleet utilisation over the last quarter, in its latest update to the stock market.

In the UK, vehicle utilisation for the three months to 18 September averaged 89%, in line with that experienced in the year ended 30 April 2012. In Northgate’s other market, Spain, utilisation has remained at 90%, also in line with the previous period.

Of course, Darlington-based Northgate isn’t immune to the severe recession in Spain nor to the weak demand being generated by the UK’s stagnant economy. To maintain consistently high utilisation levels, it is gradually trimming its fleet size (as I reported in September last year).

Northgate has reduced its UK fleet from 52,900 to 50,900 since the 30th April 2012, with vehicles on hire decreasingly in a similar fashion, from 46,400 at 30 April 2012 to 44,800 at 18 September 2012 — a decrease of 1,600 units compared to a fall of 2,400 in the same period last year.

Luckily, the recession-induced fall in new van registrations since 2008 means that the market for good quality used vans is strong, something that Northgate is able to capitalise on by selling its de-fleeted vans through its van sales division, Van Monster.

Outlook: Looking for retail opportunities

Northgate says that despite the “challenging economic conditions”, it continues to trade in line with its expectations and is managing to reduce net debt and gearing while focusing on optimising the efficiency of its operations.

Although it has historically focused on the business market, it is now moving into the retail market, offering daily van rental services to private renters as well as trade customers. Its main van hire website — Northgate Vehicle Hire — has been updated to offer personal use options and the company is pushing its retail hire offering at all 60 of its UK branches.

Hilton Rental Adds Sprinter To Hire Fleet

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Bishops Stortford-based van hire company Hilton Rental has added a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter luton van to its rental fleet.

vanrental.co.uk advertiser Hilton Rental has just added its first Mercedes Sprinter to its fleet. The van in question is a 313CDi luton conversion on a long wheelbase. The comprehensive specification includes a Ratcliff Palfinger 500kg tail lift and is proving popular with private customers who are moving house, according to Adam Sydes, Hilton’s vehicle rental manager.

The latest Sprinters benefit from Euro 5 engines and the current 313CDi is 15% — or 4.5mpg — more efficient than the previous model.

Hilton Rental is based in Bishops Stortford and also serves Stansted Airport; its comprehensive range of cars and vans meets most rental requirements.

Remember: If you would like to promote your van or minibus hire company on vanrental.co.uk, take a look at our advertising options.

Europcar Now Accepting Tesco Clubcard Points

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Europcar logoTesco customers can now exchange their Clubcard points for Europcar car and van hire tokens.

Under the new agreement, Europcar has become a Tesco Clubcard Rewards partner, offering 17 million Tesco Clubcard customers the opportunity to use their points for car hire reservations.  With a focus on quality and convenience, Europcar is helping Tesco bring new added value services to its Clubcard customers.

Tesco’s Clubcard rewards scheme allows customers to exchange their Clubcard vouchers, accumulated as points through shopping, and exchange them for Clubcard Rewards tokens, worth up to four times the value. These tokens can then be used with a range of over 600 partner rewards.

As Europcar becomes a new Rewards partner, Tesco Clubcard customers can now exchange their vouchers for car and van rental tokens, allowing them to get out and about for less and get the most from their Clubcard.

Ian Simkins, Clubcard Rewards Director of Tesco, says,:

“Our partnership with Europcar means Tesco Clubcard customers can book quality vehicle hire for everything from holidays and city breaks to moving house or getting to the airport. Europcar offers a simple and inclusive booking system, ensuring our customers can get away for less without any hassle.”

Ken McCall, Managing Director, Europcar Group UK adds:

“Tesco is the biggest brand in the country, with a huge customer base.  Its history of delivering leading-edge offerings, including pioneering loyalty programmes with Clubcard, makes it the perfect partner for Europcar as we have a proven track record for being first to market with innovative new products for our customers.

“We are delighted to have teamed up with Tesco as a Clubcard Rewards partner, the new partnership will mean every time a Tesco customer shops, they can be saving to enjoy the quality and convenience of Europcar vehicle hire.”

We say: Europcar generally offers very competitive prices anyway and this deal makes them even more attractive. Using your Clubcard points in this way is much better value than spending them instore, as the vouchers are for up to four times the value of the points.

Central London Night Deliveries Compulsory During Olympics?

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Anyone delivering to businesses in London may find that the realities of the Olympic Route Network in Central London force them to reschedule daytime deliveries to take place between the hours of midnight and 6am.

In addition, Transport for London is aiming to encourage night deliveries to try and minimise the inevitable extra traffic congestion that will be caused by the Games.

Councils ‘Sympathetic’ To Noise

In a recent statement, TfL said that local councils will be ‘sympathetic’ to businesses trying to arrange out-of-hours deliveries.

Presumably it aims to be more tolerant than usual where noise disturbance is concerned. However, in an effort to minimise the disturbance to local residents, TfL has published a Code of Practice for night time deliveries, produced in conjunction with the Freight Transport Association (FTA). Click here to read the Code of Practice.

Hire Demand High

As I’ve mentioned in these pages before, demand for van hire is likely to be sky high during the Olympics, as restricted delivery hours may mean that companies have to hire extra vehicles to make all their deliveries during the permitted window, rather than staggering them through the day. Booking your Olympic van hire early will be essential to ensure you can meet your commitments.

From an individual point of view, demand for minibuses and vans will be very high and shortages are likely – if you are planning a group outing, moving house or anything else requiring a guaranteed hire van or minibus, I’d book it now.

To help you plan your hire requirements, we’ve produced a guide to all of the London 2012 Olympic venues and the nearest hire branches.

Hiring A Van or Minibus During the Olympics? Book It Now

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If you will need to hire a van or minibus in London or the south-east of England during the Olympic Games (July 27 to August 12) or Paralympic Games (August 29-September 9), you should book it now.

At a recent transport planning seminar held by the Association of Car Fleet Operators (ACFO), Ian Wainwright, of Transport for London told attendees that up to 800,000 spectators and 55,000 athletes, officials, organisers and members of the media would be travelling to and from the Olympic venues every day.

The Government has said that the overall transport ambition is to reduce non-Olympic demand during the Games by 30% but Wainwright advised attendees to consider the ‘4rs’ – reduce travel, reschedule travel, re-route travel to avoid busy transport corridors and revise travel modes.

This advice applies to anyone seeking to rent self-drive vans and minibuses, too. Demand will be sky high and anyone leaving it to the last minute will have to take a big risk on availability – plus there is also the possibility that prices will rise in response to sky-high levels of demand.

Follow our advice for a trouble-free Games:

  1. Work out what your van and minibus requirements will be and book it all now.
  2. If in doubt, book an extra day (or an extra vehicle). Don’t cut it fine – you will not be able to extend your booking at the last minute.
  3. Reschedule for before or after the Games if possible.
  4. Remember that there are Olympic venues all over the south of England and so disruption will extend far beyond London – click here for a list of all Olympic venues.
  5. Remember to compare prices to find the best deal – we offer the UK’s most comprehensive van hire price comparison and minibus hire price comparison services.
Have you got any Olympic tips – or are you already feeling the effects of the forthcoming Games? Leave a comment below and let us know.

Hourly Van Hire: Zipvan Is Cheap For Hours, Expensive For Days

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Back in 2008, I wrote about the London launch of the Streetcar hourly car and van hire service.

Fast forward to today and things have changed slightly. Not only do both Hertz and Europcar now offer competing hourly van hire services in many locations across the UK, but Streetcar has merged with Zipcar in the UK.

Zipcar’s van hire service (named Zipvan!) remains true to the original concept of 24/7, on-demand short-term hire and offers Volkswagen Transporters in a number of key UK cities:

The service is designed to encourage hourly hire, rather than multi-day hire – and rental rates reflect this. Hourly hire starts from a reasonable £9 per hour but Zipcar’s daily van hire rates start from £84 per day, which is very expensive for a medium van.

Using our van hire price comparison system, I was able to find equivalent daily rates for a medium van in central London from just £31.98!

London LEZ Vehicle Hire Warning – New Rules From 03/01/2012

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London Low Emission Zone sign

The London LEZ covers most of the area inside the M25 (image courtesy of Martin Addison)

Van hire customers renting vans from companies operating older vans should be aware that the rules for driving into the London Low Emission Zone change from 3rd January 2012.

The LEZ covers most of the area inside the M25, although some outlying areas are excluded (click here for a map).

Vans affected are likely to be at least 10 years old (51 reg or older) and so most mainstream van hire companies will not be affected, as most rental companies operate newer vans.

However, companies offering specialist vehicles for hire – such as splitter vans for bands, tour buses, horseboxes, cherry pickers, 3.5t tippers with cranes, ambulances, motorhomes and other specialist vehicles often run older rental fleets to compensate for the higher initial cost of the vehicle.

What Are The New LEZ Rules?

All light commercial vehicles must meet the Euro 3 emissions standard or face a daily fee of £100 (<3.5t) for driving into the London Low Emission Zone, starting January 3rd 2012. For vehicles over 3.5t, the fee is £200 per day.

Transport for London has taken the position of assuming that  ‘vehicles registered as new before 1 January 2002’ will not meet the Euro 3 requirement. But… a number of light commercial vehicle models registered in 2001 are Euro 3 compliant and will meet the new rules without requiring any modification.

Transport for London has published a list of ‘early adopters’ on its website – so vehicle owners can check whether their vehicle is on the list.

I’m Renting – Where Does This Leave Me?

As usual with the law, the onus is on the driver to make sure that they are complying with all relevant rules.

If you rent a light commercial vehicle on the following list that was registered before 1st January 2002, and you wish to take it into the London LEZ, you will need to check the situation for yourself*.

Weight 1.205 – 3.5 tonnes:

  • Vans
  • Motorised horseboxes
  • 4×4 light utility vehicles (more than 8 seats or van variant of 4×4)
  • All Pickups
  • Other commercial vehicles

Weight 2.5 – 3.5 tonnes:

  • Motor caravans (motorhomes and campervans)
  • Ambulances

Weight < 5 tonnes:

  • Minibuses with 8-16 passenger seats

Further Information

The LEZ is operated by Transport for London and all the information you need should be available on its website. Here are some key links:

*All of the information provided here is believed to be correct at the time of publishing and vanrental.co.uk will endeavour to maintain it in the future. However, no responsibility can be taken for errors, omissions or future changes to the rules. Check the Transport for London website for the latest information.

Easirent 7% OFF Voucher Code – Van Hire & Car Hire [EXPIRED]

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Car and van hire company Easirent has just released a fantastic new 7% OFF voucher code.

This new Easirent discount code is valid for all hires (car rental and van rental):

  • Start Date: All hires starting from 15/11/2011 – 31/03/2012
  • End Date for booking: 30th December 2011
  • Voucher Code: CARHIRE5

**THIS OFFER HAS NOW EXPIRED**

Easirent has van hire branches in the following locations:

Collection and dropoff are also possible at many major airports and railway stations – visit www.easirent.com for more information.

Van Hire News: Thrifty Adds 800 Vans To Rental Fleet

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Thrifty Adds 800 Vans To UK Fleet

Thrifty Car and Van Rental is to add 6,000 new vehicles to its UK rental fleet, including 800 vans.

After the last two severe winters, the company is also expecting strong demand for 4×4 vehicles and is increasing the number of 4×4 pickup trucks on its fleet by 25%.

Thrifty has 85 branches in the UK.

Used Van Market Will Face Shortages Over Next Few Years

The UK used van market is likely to experience a shortage of good quality, low mileage vans over the next four years, according to a new report from British Car Auctions.

Since 2009, fewer new vans have been registered and many operators have been keeping vans in service for longer, resulting in second hand stock that is older and higher mileage. The BCA report estimates that there will be a shortfall of up to 275,000 vans on the used market between 2011 and 2015.

Rather than buying poor quality used vans, businesses in need of additional or replacement vans may be tempted to try the flexible hire services provided by large van rental companies, whose purchasing power means that they do have a large, young fleet of modern vans.

Van Hire In Cornwall: Permit Required For Household Waste Recycling Centres

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Anyone who lives in Cornwall and is planning to hire a van to take household waste to the tip needs to plan ahead. Cornwall Council is now operating a permit scheme to restrict access to household waste recycling centres by vans or vehicles with trailers of more than 1.8m internal length.

This means you cannot simply hire a van for the weekend and then take it to the tip – you will need to plan ahead and contact Cornwall Council to be issued with a permit, which allows 12 visits per year.

Cornwall Council has introduced the permit scheme to crack down on abuse of household tips by trade users, who pretend that their waste is domestic in order to avoid paying commercial rates for its disposal.

The scheme has already produced impressive results – Cornwall Council says that there has been a 15% fall in waste going through household waste sites since the permit requirement was introduced. This equates to a £600,000 saving – costs that were presumably previously being met by council tax payers.

Cornwall Council has issued 14,500 permits so far, including 9,200 for vans.

Cornwall Council has Household Waste Recycling Centres in the following loctions (click on the links for nearby van rental branches or click here to search for van hire in your area):

  • Bodmin
  • Bude
  • Liskeard (Connon Bridge)
  • Falmouth
  • Helston
  • Launceston
  • Newquay
  • Redruth
  • Saltash
  • St Austell
  • St Day (Redruth)
  • St Erth (Hayle)
  • Tintagel (Bowithick)
For more information on the permit scheme or to contact Cornwall Council, visit www.cornwall.gov.uk.