How on earth did we manage rental cars before smartphones?

Yes, it is an AI-generated unage, and no, it’s not a rental car, but it was just so darned cute I had to use it…. Image by Stephane VERNEY from Pixabay

It’s been more than a decade since I rented a car in another city, and I recently learned that this ubiquitous tool has totally changed the experience. Overall, I think it’s changed for the better.

Here at home, I use car-shares, and I am among those who mourned the loss of Car2Go in North America.

But in other cities, I’ve always found it more economical and convenient, and less stressful, to rely on transit options. This is certainly the case in unfamiliar places where road signs are in languages I don’t read, and where I’d rather sight-see than watch the road.

This is all to say that the changes in the car rental experience came as a revelation to me last week when we took a trip across the country and rented a car for the last leg to make a visit to rural relatives.

First, of course, was the fact that we booked online, on the smartphone.

Then the experience of actually picking up the car.

When we arrived at the off-airport depot, the crowded lot of the discount rental supplier was like a symphony of chaos.

People arriving with luggage and infant car seats.

People waiting for the airport shuttle, their Uber, or their taxi, with luggage and car seats.