The nation’s worst travel holiday just became even more of a nightmare.
Motorists who lost their cars to Hurricane Sandy — or lost their mass transit commute — are finding it impossible to rent a car for the Thanksgiving weekend.
Enterprise Holdings — which owns Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car — said it is relocating thousands of cars to the New York City area, some from as far away as Colorado, to meet the demand. In all, more than 27,000 vehicles are being added to the company’s New York-New Jersey fleet, officials said.
“Although we are working hard to increase our local fleet as quickly as possible, there are still significant waiting lists in some communities where residents are requesting replacements for their damaged vehicles,” said Matt Darrah, executive vice president of Enterprise’s North American operations.
“Despite our best efforts to be prepared, the magnitude of the storm has simply outstripped our resources and manpower in some locations,” he said.
Drivers who have someplace to go on the upcoming holiday weekend are adding to the demand.
“We have a waiting list of 300 people for Thanksgiving weekend,” an Enterprise sales agent in Hoboken told one frustrated driver.
“We are bringing in cars from all over the nation.”