UAE-based car rental firm to invest Dh45m

Dubai: Fast Rent A Car, one of the UAE's biggest locally owned car rental companies, will invest Dh45 million in its bus fleet this year, Gulf News has learnt. The company has just added 44 buses to its fleet of 120 and will buy some 100 more, citing strong demand for transportation of industrial and construction workers.

"This investment is indicative of the confidence and trust that our customers are continuing to place in our products and services despite the econ-omic downturn," says the company's CEO Ahmad Aboud Al Boasy.

The new fleet will be based in the Workers Village in Abu Dhabi, Al Boasy says. Despite an otherwise tense econ-omic situation in certain sectors, the company has experienced a steady rise in transport and rental business over the last 12 months.

Its buses are currently used by a range of organisations from companies involved in the construction and hospitality industries to schools and universities and government-run projects.

The company's commercial passenger fleet ranges from budget mini-buses to luxury coaches. The new buses, with a capacity from 33 to 65 passengers, will be used for short-term leasing for conferences and exhibitions as well as for long-term plans for construction companies.

Large network

Fast Rent A Car was founded 1996 in Abu Dhabi and claims to have one of the largest networks of offices and pick-up points in the country, including 15 stand-alone branches.

The hire service is a part of Emirates National Group (ENG), which specialises in automotive services, counting Emirates Taxi, Fast Recovery and Fast Service Centre in its line-up.

ENG is also offering insurance brokerage and other related transport services. The group employs more than 2,000 people.

The entire fleet of Fast Rent A Car currently comprises more than 7,000 vehicles.

The company has 16 outlets spread across the UAE, and two outlets in Doha, Qatar in a joint venture with Taleb Group. Adding to this are international partners in select locations around the world.