Rental Car Giant, Hertz is partnering with the city of Denver to build its charging infrastructure as a part of its “Hertz Electrifies” program. Under this program, Hertz plans to add more than 5,000 EVs to its Denver fleet and also install public EV chargers at Denver International Airport and at locations around the city, with a focus on underserved communities. Hertz wants to support its daily customers and drivers of ride-sharing services like Uber who may be renting an EV for the first time or in an unfamiliar area.
The partnership is a big leap for a smooth transition to electric vehicles as it addresses the often-daunting task of finding a charger. Hertz Electrifies Program will not only boost the charging infrastructure of the city of Denver but will also spread awareness around EVs in a first-of-its-kind effort.
Through Denver’s Youth Employment Program, Hertz will provide EVs, tools, and training to the city’s technical high schools and will also offer summer job opportunities.
In an interview with CNBC, Stephen Scherr, CEO of Hertz said, “Public-private partnerships are very powerful vehicles. We see what’s happening in the mobility world, we see the direction of travel. And therefore we can be a force along with a very powerful city and mayor, to sort of move this forward in the direction in which I think all of us would like to see, which is broad participation in electromobility.”
Scherr further added that Hertz plans to share anonymized location data from its rental EVs with the city to help Denver officials identify where to install new charging stations. He expects that some of that data will point to sites in the city’s lower-income neighborhoods, where ride-share drivers using Hertz EVs tend to live.
Denver city’s mayor, Michael Hancock, told CNBC that the city’s goal is to reduce its carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 and to completely electrify the city’s own buildings and fleet by the end of this decade. I’m always worried about equity and how communities are often left behind. Hertz’s plan to focus on underserved neighborhoods and to train local students to service EVs could make this partnership a “game-changer” for the city.
Michael Hancock added “This will be impactful to have a company like Hertz come forward and say we want to do this so as to spread the opportunity for this new revolution in this industry. “It’s a big deal for Denver, and it’s going to be a big deal for the nation as well as it spreads about.”
Scherr said Hertz Rentals hopes to strike similar deals with other cities around the country and the Denver partnership will serve as a template. He and Hancock will discuss this at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C.
Source: Hertz