Voices

We have enough rental cars

By Jenelle Whittaker (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-24 07:59

I can't think of anything worse than renting a car in Beijing.

It would be an absolute nightmare.

Other drivers blasting their horns the second I am too late accelerating after the traffic light turned green. Buses crossing two lanes and cutting me off when they are turning. Four-wheel-drives mistakenly believing they can weave in and out of the traffic. Cyclists riding on the wrong side of the road.

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I would surely have a heart attack, or at the very least, be red in the face and drenched in sweat from anxiety.

But that's just me. Other expats might find cruising the streets of Beijing more romantic and now, according to a leading car rental company, they may be more able to so.

Recently, car rental company China Auto Rental, announced it will establish 13 booths along seven Beijing subway lines in a bid to open the roads up to subway users.

Beijing residents, including foreigners, will be able to hire a car after showing a valid ID card or passport along with a driving license issued in China and their credit card number.

The vice-president of China Auto Rental Inc was quoted by media describing the procedure of renting a car as "similar to checking in at a hotel."

Call me a skeptic but I don't see it as being that simple.

Firstly, in order to rent the car, you need a Chinese driving license. Gaining a Chinese driving license requires a mountain of paperwork, a health check and can be expensive.

If you only want to rent a car on your own for a one-or-two-day excursion, it would be quicker and easier to find a guarantor who has a Beijing hukou or choose to hire an English speaking driver.

Each car company requires different documents when hiring out a vehicle. Some car rental companies - like China Auto Rental Inc - require expats to present their valid Chinese driving license, passport and international or domestic credit card to rent a car.

Other companies ask for a valid Chinese driving license, passport and Beijing residency permit for auto rental. Foreigners who don't have Beijing residency permits must ask someone with a Beijing hukou to be their guarantor.

For Beijing residents, if you have a Beijing driver's license, you intend to buy a car, not rent one. The main reason Beijingers apply for a driver's license and invest in a car is to get in the good books with their in-laws or show face to friends.

It's not prestigious to return the keys every day and then hop on the subway for the ride home. There is simply no local customer demand for short-term car rentals.

However, if one does decide to rent a car for the day, they are burdened with the issue of parking. Parking on the street in Beijing can be illegal in some places and lacks security.

I witnessed this recently when a poor car owner was circling his car inspecting the damage from someone who keyed both side panels, the front and back of the car. If someone did that to a rented car, the cost of hiring it for the day might no longer feel like a bargain.

My other concern is safety. Practice makes perfect and driving is no exception. People who are less experienced driving on Beijing's roads are going to be more nervous, less familiar with the traffic and road conditions and more hesitant than regular drivers.

It also pays to know the road rules, even if it feels like no one is following them.

Besides safety issues, we shouldn't be encouraging more people to drive when public transport is ample and sufficient, especially luring the people who are already doing the hard yards and riding the subway in the first place.

China Auto Rental Inc's fleet of 600 cars is an unwelcome addition to the congestion on Beijing's roads. Traffic will worsen and there will be more risk of accidents.