HONOLULU (KHON2) — Rental car companies are one of the businesses allowed to resume service, but under Gov. David Ige’s latest proclamation, rental car companies are banned from renting to anyone who is under a 14-day quarantine. If someone who is supposed to be under quarantine rents a car, the rental company will also be cited.
To make sure this doesn’t happen, rental car companies have added additional policies.
At Hawaii Smart Car Rentals LLC., visitors will now have to submit a copy of their plane ticket and self-quarantine documentation that they signed.
“And each tourist should have that paperwork with them, and that would show when they arrive [on] the island. Then you can determine 14 days from there,” said Juliet Roseby, Hawaii Smart Car Rentals LLC co-owner.
Roseby, who is also a full-time nurse, said her company has implemented this stricter policy to ensure that people who use their service have been cleared from quarantine to make it safe. They will also make their customers sign off on an agreement that asks them to also answer questions regarding travel and illness.
“It’s about five, six questions, and we just have them initial. Hopefully that will be sufficient, and if they break the rules then we just have to call the police,” said Roseby.
She said she thinks the rule is a way to discourage breaking quarantine.
“We definitely need to enforce that, and that’s the only way we can prevent [COVID-19] from spreading… is isolation,” said Roseby.
Joe Webster, owner of Big Island Jeep Rental LLC agrees that something like this is needed.
“Just yesterday, somebody showed up from Detroit wanting to rent a car. I told them they need to be quarantined. [They’re] like well, I still need a car to get around. I’m like nope,” said Joe Webster, Big Island Jeep Rental LLC owner.
Webster said this isn’t the first time a visitor has asked to rent a car after just arriving in the islands.
“You shouldn’t be aiding and abetting any criminal behavior especially if it’s going to cause damage to the well-being of our island,” said Webster.
According to the proclamation, exemptions can be made, but they have to be approved by the state first.
