A young Singaporean man was yesterday sentenced by a local district court to serve 42 months behind bars following investigations into an alleged car hire scam.
22-year-old Allen Tan Wei Loon pleaded guilty to eight charges, mainly involving cheating and fraud, and was also banned from driving for the next four years after it was discovered that he had been driving without any insurance cover or a driver’s license. The court heard how Loon cheated around S$134,000, the majority of which has already been repaid.
The scandal followed Loon’s response to an advertisement placed online by Ms Lim Lay Lan offering her [...]

The toll for driving on the Irish M50 motorway is being applied to rental bookings by some operators, who argue that the increase in fees for hire car customers has been brought about by losses generated from unpaid charges. In some instances, the standard £3 pound each way charge is being added to the overall bill along with an additional fee of up to 64 percent.
The rate hike revelation came after a Europcar customer, who is based in the UK, hired a vehicle for his trip home. He was charged with a extra fee of €1.93 each for each leg [...]

The pay-as-you-go car hire service operated by Peugeot using their Mu vehicle program has been successfully launched in France for some time, and now UK motorists can experience the latest driving concept.
Similar to a pre-paid mobile account, the Mu system provides users with top-up options simply by visiting the dedicated website. With sufficient credit, renters can choose from numerous vehicles such as an SUV, the 207 or 308 CC, 407 Coupe and more. There is even the option to rent scooters and bicycles for the more environmentally friendly or exercise conscious, while additional extras such as ski racks and GPS [...]

The ongoing effects of the economic crisis that has driven many car hire and air travel operators out of business over the past 18 months has unveiled a bright side for rail passengers.
With business travellers have been suffering from budget cuts by employers worldwide, many have been forced to turn to rail travel as a more financially viable alternative. The continued push across the UK and Europe for high-speed rail networks has also wooed many to the benefits of business travel by train.
The Guild of Travel Management Companies has released data which shows that train bookings grew by around 13 [...]

The North Gauteng High Court in South Africa has ruled that a pair of holidaymakers travelling from the UK who were arrested and detained by local authorities are to receive 90,000 Rand compensation for their ordeal.
The two travellers, one who was hospitalised on his return to the UK, were unlawfully arrested in Beitbridge, where they were held in deplorable conditions for around 11 hours.
Siyananiso Mashava, a Zimbabwean, and Ian Murrell, from Australia, had been holidaying in the republic in August 2007, having travelled there for a holiday from their UK home. Judy Jody Kollapen advised the court that the pair [...]

The past year has not been a kind one for the motor industry. Car hire companies across the globe have faced slashed budgets, staff cutbacks and fleet reductions as they try to stay afloat in the ongoing economic downturn.
While several smaller operations have been forced out, some have thrived and look primed for a bumper summer season that looks to leverage off the strong end of season rush experienced in 2009. Indigo Car Hire is one such rental group, with the company formerly known as 121 Car Rental being busy enough  in recent times to expand and upgrade its services [...]

British rental group Weddingcarhire.co.uk has announced that it has launched a new Facebook page where it promises to bring customers the lowest rates and the best deals.
The social networking site has become increasingly popular for business promotions, and the new weddingcarhire page offers a number of deals exclusive to Facebook, not to mention late cancellation bookings.
The great benefit of social networking pages is that they allow the customer to read customer reviews on makes and models as well as offering forums on the best driving options. The Facebook page for the special day specialists enables visitors to search through the [...]

The 4th of March will be a memorable day for hire car customers and the Sixt Rent A Car group alike, with the day marking the occasion of the London launch of the new electric car hire system.
The Fulham-Chelsea branch for Sixt will debut the environmentally friendly C1 Ev’ie vehicles from Citroen, meaning customers at the rental centre can choose between traditional favourites and the more eco-conscious alternate.
The C1 Ev’ie is perfect for inner-city driving, and London is the ideal launch city. The vehicle is identical to a standard Citroen C1, having five doors and plenty of room for four [...]

Hertz Global Holdings, the largest hire car organisation on the planet, has revealed that its fourth quarter loss has dropped dramatically from the dark times of a year ago. This time last year, the car rental industry was embroiled in a bitter fight to stay afloat as the effects of the global recession weighed heavily on operating costs.
The latest results were above most analyst projections for the period, as were the average earnings per share.
Hertz, which is based in New Jersey at Park Ridge, announced that the fourth quarter loss was just $30.9 million, an equivalent of $0.08 per share. [...]

Holidaymakers heading toward Turkey for their vacation had best take heed of the latest changes to road rules, which will come into effect as of May 1st.
The main issue concerns the use of people carriers of the 9-seater variety. These minibuses have long been the preferred choice of larger families of sports teams for travel but new legislation in Turkey has declared that such vehicles be classified as a heavy vehicle rather than a car. This means that a specified heavy vehicle license will be required before you can get behind the wheel.
Those people who are contemplating hiring such a [...]