Hurdles for vehicle rental companies

Aldo Ho-Kong-King (FP)

Thu, July 14, 2011 - 12:01 AM

The headache of theft in one area of business is spawning activity in others.

Drive-A-Matic’s managing director Aldo Ho-Kong-King said hired cars are being targeted by thieves, many of whom are using the stolen vehicles as illegal taxis.

At the same time, businesses selling GPS tracking systems are thriving as more companies try to protect their fleet from theft.

His company was taking steps to safeguard against the theft of their vehicles and he believes that was “the way to go”.

The Lower Estate, St Michael firm currently has a fleet of just over 300 vehicles, and Ho-Kong-King.

“Vehicle theft in the car rental business is a major issue . . . but we are utilising tracking devices in our vehicles. I think those devices are necessary in order to stop the theft of vehicles and to help in recovering those which are stolen,” the Drive-A-Matic boss noted.

Six vehicles were stolen in recent times and four have been recovered to date due to the tracking devices in them.

“The thieves were using them as taxis. They stole the Toyota Corollas and changed the licence plates,” he said.

In this connection, the car-rental operator has called on Government for urgent reform of the laws governing vehicle licensing, suggesting that licence plates be issued by one body – preferably Government.

Ho-Kong-King also lamented the number of vehicles on the streets without insurance coverage.

He said another issue faced by his company was the less than timely handling of accident reports by police officers, which led to significant delays in handling accident claims. (MM)