Sustainable technology is part of tourism industry

By Mike Meyer

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Feb 12, 2013

~~<p>In the past few years, tourism, Hawaii's No. 1 economic driver, has adopted greener, more sustainable ways of doing business and attracting visitors to boot.</p>
<p>GreenCar Hawaii (<a href="http://www.greencarhawaii.com" target="_blank">www.greencarhawaii.com</a>) is a perfect case in point. The Princeville, Kauai-based company provides visitors interested in renting vehicles with "car-sharing" services. Instead of going to a "conventional" rental agency like an Avis where you'd rent a typical car long term, park it at the resort and then barely use it, GreenCar offers clean energy vehicles by the hour or day, directly from their hotel, time share or condo. These include all-electric, hybrid electric and high-mileage combustible-engine cars. The hourly rental fee includes insurance, fuel, unlimited mileage and even parking. Co-founder Justin McNaughton says, "You pay for what you need by the hour and tread lightly on the environment by keeping your carbon footprint at a minimum." GreenCar has locations at five hotels, with expansion plans statewide in 2013. Hourly rates vary from $15 to $20, with all-day rentals starting from $95.</p>
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In the past few years, tourism, Hawaii's No. 1 economic driver, has adopted greener, more sustainable ways of doing business and attracting visitors to boot.

GreenCar Hawaii (www.greencarhawaii.com) is a perfect case in point. The Princeville, Kauai-based company provides visitors interested in renting vehicles with "car-sharing" services. Instead of going to a "conventional" rental agency like an Avis where you'd rent a typical car long term, park it at the resort and then barely use it, GreenCar offers clean energy vehicles by the hour or day, directly from their hotel, time share or condo. These include all-electric, hybrid electric and high-mileage combustible-engine cars. The hourly rental fee includes insurance, fuel, unlimited mileage and even parking. Co-founder Justin McNaughton says, "You pay for what you need by the hour and tread lightly on the environment by keeping your carbon footprint at a minimum." GreenCar has locations at five hotels, with expansion plans statewide in 2013. Hourly rates vary from $15 to $20, with all-day rentals starting from $95. Login for more...