• USA Today, Monday, June 4, 2007 10:33 AM

Avis is announcing a new service today that enables customers to book a chauffeur when renting an automobile in 10 big cities, including New York and Los Angeles. The cost in addition to rental charges: $30 per hour with a three-hour minimum. Rental experts expect other car-rental companies to follow suit.

The service--which requires 24-hour advance notice--is primarily targeted to mid- and high-level executives. Customers using the service are billed separately by Avis for the rental car and by WeDriveU, a company based in San Mateo, Calif.

The service may set off a firestorm in the taxi, limousine and car-for-hire industries. "Local licensing restrictions in many jurisdictions would preclude Avis from doing this," says Hal Morgan, of the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association. But Avis vice president Michael Caron says his company is "not in the livery business," so local laws regulating cars for hire do not apply to its Chauffeur Drive service.

Read the whole story at USA Today »