Contract Name: Rental Vehicles

Contract Number: 518-020-05-1

Effective Dates: 07/01/2004 through 06/30/2009

When issuing a purchase order use commodity class: 518

Additional Information

New Avis Rentals now located in the Capital Circle Office Complex (Southwood) Area for use by eligible users of the State Term Contract

The hours of operation will be 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, with the exception of any state observed holidays. Their office is located within Building 4030 Esplanade Way, Suite 101, Tallahassee, FL 32399. State employees will only be able to make reservations at the Avis Southwood office by calling the Southwood office, the Avis Airport location or the Avis Monroe Street Location.

Avis is unable to allow internet reservations or reservation center reservations at this time due to limiting the Southwood location to State Term Contract eligible user rentals only. Currently, this is the only way to ensure that the public cannot make a reservation at the Southwood location.

Parking is available for rental users within the parking lots but not within any parking spaces on Esplanade Way.

Avis Rentals, Inc., and its on-site Rental Agent, Grayce Berman, look forward to the immediate success of this new Avis location and improving the rental experience of those State Term Contract eligible users.

Weekend Sunday Rentals:

Avis will offer courtesy pickup service in front of the Avis Office at Southwood on Sunday's at 10:00 a.m., noon, 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. We will pick customers up in a van and drive them to a local Avis location, most likely the Monroe Street location. This is based upon the availability of the rental required and the location of a drop off if not at the Southwood Avis location. Note, all rentals from and rental returns to the Tallahassee Airport shall have the concession fee applied. The van will be labeled with a magnetic sign that reads "Avis State of Florida Courtesy Shuttle." These state customers should make a reservation for Sunday pickup at the Southwood Avis office in order for us to have a general idea of the pick up volume and to have the rental agreements preprinted, if possible.

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Plate Pass Charges and Avis Billing:

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) will not pay for "Plate Pass" charges to P-Cards or other credit cards used on Avis Rentals. The Department of Transportation has implemented "Plate Pass," an innovative way to capture vehicle tags for those who go through SunPass Tolls without a SunPass Prepaid Transponder or one with insufficient funds. Plate Pass is a third party billing; therefore there are "added charges" over and above the actual "toll charge." DFS will reimburse for tolls upon paid toll receipts but will not pay for "Plate Pass" charges. Plate Pass bills the owners of the non-paying vehicles by dunning or charging those individuals/vendors. Avis Rentals passes those charges directly back to the vehicle renter. Avis can validate the date, time, place and SunPass Transponder response including the Plate Pass capture data. They will provide this information to renters if asked. Plate Pass charges will never be included within the State Term Contract 518-020-05-1 Vehicle Rentals due to third party billing.

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Hybrid Vehicle Rentals

The rental of hybrid vehicles on the State Term Contract 518-20-05-1 must be justified prior to the rental because the Prius is not a subcompact class vehicle. This is generally done on the approval form "Travel Vouchers" when requesting authorization for travel. The Department of Financial Services is requiring this for payment of these rental differences (those rentals that are not Class B.)

Purchasing Card Message - Hybrid Vehicle Rental Justification Form

In order to help you be "green" when traveling on state business, we have created the Justification for Hybrid Upgrade Form. This is a simple form that only requires four inputs to determine if your proposed rental of a hybrid is in the best interest of the state. If the "estimated savings" is a NEGATIVE number, then there is no savings to the state and the cardholder would have to pay for the hybrid upgrade. If the number is POSITIVE, then there is a savings to the state and the expense of the hybrid is justifiable. Cardholders complete this form and attach to the travel voucher ONLY if a hybrid is planned on being rented. If a hybrid is rented and no justification is provided, the Cardholder must pay the difference for the upgrade.

Hybrid Justification Form (vnd.ms-excel 21.00 kB)

Additional Information on Hybrid Justification Process (pdf 158.14 kB)

Toyota Prius - Fuel Note:

Tank capacity is 11.9 gallons - if you run out of gas, you must "fill" the tank to be able to start the vehicle again. If you run out, there's no running to the nearest gas station for a gallon of gas, you might as well call a tow truck. Can Prius run on electricity when it runs out of gas? No. Though Prius can operate in electric-only mode when gasoline is in the tank, it is not designed to run without gasoline. Doing so could cause severe damage to the hybrid system, so drivers should be sure to keep gas in the tank at all times.

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The following items are from the Contract Summary:

9. Drivers Under The Age of 25

Business Rentals: Most rental car companies have strict guidelines regarding renting to drivers under the age of 25. This contract requires that any state employee or eligible customer under the age of 25 renting a vehicle for business purposes from AVIS must (a) have their rental billed directly to the Agency or State P-Card (authorized signer or the credit card presented for rental payment) and (b) must be the name of the party renting the vehicle.

Personal Rental: This coverage is provided to business associates, spouse, significant life partner living in same household, and children of the renter above the age of 25 that are living at home. Under age 25 drivers is not permitted for personal rentals.

23. Rental Vehicle Contract Taxes

Only in-state rentals that are billed directly to the agency by use of an Avis Credit Card, Avis issued Company Travel Order (ACTO), State of Florida Purchasing Card, pre approved Direct Bills using Purchase Orders, are tax exempt.