A consolidated rental car facility (CRCF) or consolidated rental car center (CONRAC) is a complex that hosts numerous car rental agencies, typically found at airports in the United States.
The most important incentives for building consolidated facilities are greatly reduced traffic congestion in airport pick up and drop off areas and increased convenience for travelers. A single unified fleet of shuttle buses can serve all car rental agencies, instead of each company operating their own individual shuttle buses which may come less frequently. Congestion can be further reduced by connecting the consolidated facility to the airport terminal with a people mover.
Consolidated facilities are typically built around two areas: a customer service building where each company operates retail counters to serve renters, and a "ready/return" lot or garage where cars are temporarily parked while ready and awaiting a renter, or when recently returned and in need of servicing before the next renter.
Facilities usually also feature a Quick Turn Around (QTA) area either on-site or at a nearby location, where light maintenance of vehicles can be conducted including cleaning, fueling, and inspection of engine fluids. There can be several QTA areas operated by the different companies, or the services can be shared. [1]
The first known consolidated facility was built at Sacramento International Airport in 1994. [2] [3] However, as early as 1974, four companies were already sharing facilities and shuttle buses at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, and in 1988 companies at Minneapolis–Saint Paul airport introduced common shuttle buses. [4] These differed from modern CONRACs in that the majority of rental car companies at Dallas/Fort Worth continued to operate their own off-site facilities and shuttle buses, while at Minneapolis, only the shuttle buses and not the facilities themselves were shared (in other words, a single shuttle bus line served multiple off-site rental car companies). [4]
Furthermore, the rental car industry has seen major mergers, creating three major holding companies that now represent ten brands commonly seen at airports, the Avis Budget Group (which operates Avis Car Rental, Budget Rent a Car, Payless Car Rental and Zipcar), Enterprise Holdings (which operates Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent a Car and National Car Rental) and The Hertz Corporation (which operates Hertz Rent A Car, Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental). [5] Because of these mergers, even in cities without a consolidated facility, many of these companies have consolidated all their brands into one location.
The LAX Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility is currently under construction at Los Angeles International Airport. When completed in mid-2024, the US$1.5 billion building will be the largest CONRAC in the world at 6,300,000 square feet (590,000 m2) and will host up to 21,000 rental vehicles. It will be connected to the airport's terminals by an under construction people mover. [53]
The Reno–Tahoe International Airport is currently building a Rental Car and Ground Transportation Center, scheduled to open in 2025. [12]
The Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, MI is currently construction a 4 story ConRAC, scheduled to open in 2026. [54]
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles and its surrounding metropolitan area in California, United States. LAX is located in the Westchester neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, 18 miles southwest of Downtown Los Angeles, with the commercial and residential areas of Westchester to the north, the city of El Segundo to the south and the city of Inglewood to the east. LAX is the closest airport to the Westside and the South Bay.
Austin–Bergstrom International Airport, or ABIA, is an international airport in Austin, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Located about 5 miles southeast of downtown Austin, it covers 4,242 acres (1,717 ha) and has two runways and three helipads.
Seattle–Tacoma International Airport is the primary international airport serving Seattle and its metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is in the city of SeaTac, which was named after the airport's nickname “Sea–Tac”, approximately 14 miles (23 km) south of Downtown Seattle and 18 miles (29 km) north-northeast of Downtown Tacoma. The airport is the busiest in the Pacific Northwest region of North America and is owned by the Port of Seattle.
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, also known as Honolulu International Airport, is the main and largest airport in Hawaii. The airport is named after Honolulu native and Medal of Honor recipient Daniel Inouye, who represented Hawaii in the United States Senate from 1963 until his death in 2012. The airport is in the Honolulu census-designated place 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Honolulu's central business district. The airport covers 4,220 acres, more than 1% of Oahu's land.
Norfolk International Airport is seven miles (11 km) northeast of downtown Norfolk, an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Airport Authority: a bureau under the municipal government. The airport serves the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of southeast Virginia as well as northeast North Carolina. Norfolk International currently flies to one destination outside of the United States via Frontier Airlines’ service to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Gainesville Regional Airport is a public airport three miles northeast of Gainesville, in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is owned by Gainesville-Alachua Co. Auth. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.
Will Rogers World Airport, also known as Will Rogers Airport or simply Will Rogers, is a passenger airport located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, about 6 miles (10 km) southwest of the city's downtown area. It is a civil-military airport on 8,081 acres of land. Although the official IATA and ICAO airport codes for Will Rogers World Airport are OKC and KOKC, it is common practice to refer to it as "WRWA" or "Will Rogers".
Monterrey International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de Monterrey), officially Aeropuerto Internacional General Mariano Escobedo(General Mariano Escobedo International Airport) (IATA: MTY, ICAO: MMMY), is an international airport located in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico, serving Greater Monterrey. It operates flights to Mexico, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia and Europe. The airport serves as the main hub for Viva Aerobus, Magnicharters, and the regional carrier Aerus. It is also a focus city for Volaris, Aeromexico Connect, and the regional airline TAR Aerolíneas. The airport also serves cargo and charter flights, hosts facilities for Mexican Airspace Navigation Services, and facilitates various tourism-related activities, flight training, and general aviation. Monterrey Airport is operated by Grupo Aeroportuario Centro Norte OMA and it is named after General Mariano Escobedo, a prominent military figure born in Nuevo León.
Appleton International Airport, formerly Outagamie County Regional Airport, is an airport located in Greenville, Wisconsin, United States, 3 nautical miles west of Appleton. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2023–2027. Along with Madison’s Dane County Regional Airport, it is one of two airports in the State of Wisconsin categorized as a small hub. The airport covers 1,638 acres (6.63 km2) at an elevation of 918 feet (280 m) above sea level.
Boryspil International Airport is an international airport in Boryspil, 29 km (18 mi) east of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is Ukraine's largest airport, serving 65% of its passenger air traffic, including all its intercontinental flights and a majority of international flights. It is one of two passenger airports that serve Kyiv along with the smaller Zhuliany Airport. Boryspil International Airport was a member of Airports Council International. Since 24 February 2022, the airport does not operate any scheduled, charter or cargo flights due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Palanga International Airport is a regional international airport located near the resort town Palanga at the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest airport in Lithuania and focuses on short and mid-range routes to European destinations. It serves the Lithuanian Baltic sea resorts of Palanga and the city of Klaipėda, and parts of Samogitia and western Latvia.
Kenneth Kaunda International Airport is an international airport located in Chongwe District, off the Great East Road, approximately 27 kilometres (17 mi) northeast of the city centre of Lusaka, the capital and largest city of Zambia. The airport has a capacity of 6 million and is the largest in Zambia, serving as a hub for its region. The airport serves as a hub for Zambia Airways, Proflight Zambia, Royal Zambian Airlines, and Mahogany Air.
A car rental, hire car or car hire agency is a company that rents automobiles for short periods of time to the public, generally ranging from a few hours to a few weeks. It is often organized with numerous local branches, and primarily located near airports or busy city areas and often complemented by a website allowing online reservations.
Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) is an intermodal rapid transit, commuter rail, intercity rail, local bus, and intercity bus transportation hub in Miami-Dade County, Florida, just outside the Miami city limits near the Grapeland Heights neighborhood. The facility was constructed by the Florida Department of Transportation and is owned by the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority.
The Airport Transit System (ATS) is an automated people mover system at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. It opened on May 6, 1993. The ATS moves passengers between the airport terminals and parking facilities, and was designed to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The system was closed for refurbishment and modernization between January 2019 and November 2021.
Transportation in the Las Vegas Valley including the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson is a multi-faceted system. The street system is mostly laid out in a north–south/east–west system of roads. While most residents rely on cars, there is a network of bus routes reaching some areas of the county. The Las Vegas Valley, being the one of the largest tourist destinations in the world, has a mass transportation system which favors the Las Vegas Strip.
Los Angeles International Airport has more than 150 gates in nine passenger terminals arranged in the shape of the letter U or a horseshoe. On the landside of the airport, LAX Shuttle route A buses allow passengers to move between all terminals. On the airside, various pedestrian corridors allow passengers to move between all terminals on foot without having to exit and reenter airport security. Additionally, by early 2025, the airport will be served by the LAX Automated People Mover, which will connect terminals to one another on the landside, along with providing connections to the LAX Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility, parking facilities, and the LAX/Metro Transit Center station, which will be served by the Los Angeles Metro Rail system and public bus routes. In addition to these terminals, there are 2 million square feet (190,000 m2) of cargo facilities.
The LAX Automated People Mover is an under construction automated people mover (APM) system that will serve the area around Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The system will be owned by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and operated by LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS). The line will run for 2.25 miles (3.62 km) and have six stations that connect the LAX Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility (ConRAC), the Los Angeles Metro Rail system, and the LAX West Intermodal Transportation Facility with the airport's central terminal area (CTA). The line was initially planned to open in 2023, but is now planned to open on October 30, 2025.
ENC is an American manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses with its headquarters and main factory in Riverside, California, and owned by REV Group. The company is scheduled to be shut down by the end of October 2024.
The LAX Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility is an under-construction consolidated rental car facility for the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). When it is operational in 2025, it will consolidate rental car operations currently spread across the surrounding area of LAX into one location adjacent to the 405 freeway. The new facility is expected to store up to 21,000 rental vehicles.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)