In-Province Vehicle Rental

The government Daily Rental Vehicle supply arrangement is designed to direct the renter to the lowest cost vehicle for the area in which they intend to rent.

In-Province Rental means:

1. Business travel within the province of British Columbia (using a supply arrangement)
2. It also includes daily rental vehicles rented through a supply arrangement and driven to another province or state and returned to B.C.
3. It does not include any travel that originates out-of-province or out of country

Download rental procedures, insurance and accident information (PDF, 210 KB)

In-Province Rental Guidelines

1. Determine Vehicle Type Needed
2. Select the Rental agency and Reserve the Vehicle
3. Supply arrangement Rates and Promotional Fares
4. Insurance
5. Vehicle Inspection and Use
6. Returning the Vehicle and Payment
7. Payment
8. One-way rental

1. Determine Vehicle Type Needed

Government policy requires drivers to use the most economical, fuel-efficient, and green mode of transportation suitable for their needs.

Drivers are encouraged to rent hybrid vehicles wherever hybrid vehicles are available in a given vehicle class and where hybrid servicing is available in the proposed operating area. Some ministries may restrict drivers to the use of hybrid or compact vehicles exclusively unless the use of non-hybrid or larger vehicles is pre-authorized by an Expense Authority.

Renters may choose from ten categories of vehicles:

Hybrids

• compact hybrid car
• mid-compact hybrid car

Non-Hybrids

• sub-compact car
• compact car
• mid-size or intermediate passenger card
• full size passenger car
• mini-van
• sport utility vehicle
• passenger van / bus
• other

Note: not all rental agencies offer all the vehicles listed.

2. Select the Rental Agency and Reserve the Vehicle

Rental Agency Selection

Daily vehicle rental CSAs are awarded by community. Vehicle rental companies do not necessarily have a CSA for every location from which they rent vehicles. To locate the companies holding a CSA in the city where you wish to rent, click on the applicable city in the Daily Rental Suppliers by Community (XLS, 55KB) table.

Vehicle Reservation & Corporate ID Number

• Call the phone number indicated on the rates table for that rental agency location in the Daily Rental Suppliers by Community (XLS, 55KB) table.
• When making the reservation use the Corporate ID Number listed for that rental agency in the Corporate ID Number column within the Daily Rental Suppliers by Community (XLS, 55KB) table. Corporate ID numbers must be used with 1-800 or other toll-free number or online / Internet booking systems offered by the rental agency, or travel dot.com sites, to ensure the correct rates and terms are applied.
• If you rely on your travel agent to make your rental bookings, let them know that you will travel under the government's supply arrangement and inform them of the Corporate ID numbers.
• Note: The rental agency is not responsible for provision of our Corporate ID numbers.  If the renter does not provide the number, the rental rate may differ from the agreed rates as well as the insurance and other terms of the agreement.

3. CSA Rates and Promotional Fares

• If the rental agency is unable or unwilling to provide the vehicle at the supply arrangement rate select another rental agency in the area and inform the Commodity Manager responsible.
• Should a rental agency offer you a promotional fare that is lower than the supply arrangement rate, this promotional fare must include the same service and insurance coverage as the supply arrangement. Do not accept the special rate offer unless the rental agency provides you with written assurance that the terms and conditions of the government supply arrangement will apply. Failing that;
• Do not request or demand an alternate or special rate even if it appears more cost effective than the approved government rate. Accepting an alternate rate may void the supply arrangement agreement we have established with the rental agency including the insurance, liability, claims and payment terms. Trying to save your office a dollar or two a day on the rental charge exposes you and your office to unnecessary risk.

4. Insurance

The acceptance or waiver of car rental insurance is sometimes the single most confusing item for travelers. The information provided here takes the guess work out of it for you.
Note: Broader public sector employees check with their risk management office to confirm their appropriate arrangements. The information provided here pertains to ministry employees, category D OIC appointees, and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).

In-Province Vehicle Rentals

Download an at-a-glance supply arrangement Daily Vehicle Rentals Insurance Guide for Drivers (PDF, 210 KB). Travellers are recommended to print this guide and take it with them on their travels.

Out-of-Province/Country or Non-supply arrangement Vehicle Rentals

Check with the Risk Management Branch prior to renting a vehicle in another province or country. Insurance requirements vary depending on the laws of specific areas.

Supplementary In-Province Insurance Information

Do NOT accept any insurance offers made by the rental company.

(The only exception to this is where you are renting a vehicle from a company that does not have a supply arrangement with the BC government. See Out-of-Province Rentals.)

Waive Any Offered Insurance

You will be asked to sign or initial the rental agreement indicating your agreement to waive the following:

Waive Collision or Loss Damage insurance (CDW / LDW)

Do NOT accept their insurance offer, doing so voids our supply arrangement and the automatic insurance provided by your corporate Travel Card if you used it to pay for the rental. Payments of CDW or LDW from in-province approved rental agencies, are not reimbursed to the traveler.

Waive Personal Injury Insurance (PII or PAI)

Since you are traveling on government business you are already covered by Workers Compensation Board (WCB) policies and PAI insurance is not required. Payment of Personal Injury Insurance is not reimbursed by the Province to the traveler.

Waive Other Insurance Offers

Some rental outlets offer additional or supplementary damage or loss insurance. Do not accept their offers as such insurance often provide redundant coverage to the terms we have arranged in the supply arrangement or included with your corporate travel card.

5. Vehicle Inspection & Use

Vehicle Inspection

• You are responsible for inspecting the rental vehicle prior to departing the rental agency's lot.
• The rental agent will ask you to initial an agreement showing the location of damage (if any) they have noted on the Vehicle Condition or Damage form (a form with drawings of a generic vehicle).
• Failure to inspect the vehicle may result in you or your ministry paying for damage that you were not responsible for, or payment of fines due to in-operative equipment on the vehicle.

Vehicle Use

• As the operator of the vehicle you are responsible if the vehicle is ticketed for broken or non-working head / tail lights and signals etc, not the rental company.
• Review the Authorized Drivers and Passengers Guidelines

6. Returning the Vehicle

• Refill the fuel tank prior to return. If you bring the vehicle back and fuel is added by the rental agency you will typically pay much more than you would at the local service stations.
• Return the vehicle to the spot indicated by the rental agency's lot attendant or signage.
• If you have any problems to report regarding the vehicle's operation, make note of the problem to the lot attendant or agent, or if you feel it is a serious problem, make a note on the rental agreement.

7. Payment

The following steps should be followed when paying for the rental:

• Present your copy of the rental agreement and provide the agent the odometer reading and the fuel gauge readings.
• The agent will process your agreement and present you with the rental Contract Closure Document to sign. This document officially details the rental charges that you or your office is responsible for so it is important that you read the document prior to signing it.
• Verify that contact, billing and vehicle usage information has been recorded correctly on the rental agreement
• The preferred method of payment is your government issued employee travel card
• Daily vehicle rentals are subject to PST, GST and a special Passenger Vehicle Rental Tax (PVRT, approximately $1.50 per day),
• For more information on applicable taxes and fees, review Rates, Charges and Applicable Taxes for Vehicle Rentals

8. One-Way Rentals

Between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland

Some companies charge a surcharge in addition to the daily cost, for one-way rentals between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of BC. The surcharge is in addition to any one-way km charges. This surcharge is listed in the Daily Rental Suppliers by Community (XLS, 55KB) table.

Other One-Way Trips

One-way rentals may be charged an additional, per-kilometre fee to allow for the return of the vehicle to the rental agency. The additional fee may be added to the rental rate. The one-way return fee must be calculated on the basis of the distance from the drop-off location to the originating Contractor’s location.  The Distance Chart and the distances noted between locations shown on the B.C. Road Map & Parks Guide (available at Tourist Information Centres) will form the basis of calculations.

Should a rental agency possess a vehicle in need of return to the location that the driver is requesting to drop the vehicle off at, that vehicle will be offered at no additional charge to the driver.