Right now everyone wants to do their part for the environment. This goes for business and leisure travelers alike, who have to rent cars when on vacation or business travel. However, new reports show that, although some rental companies offer Hybrid cars, they are very hard to find and very costly to rent. This makes it almost impossible for some people to do the right thing.

Although there is a lot of talk about hybrid cars these days and going green, most people do not actually drive these kinds of cars. On top of this, a lot of rental agencies do not use these kinds of cars. Part of the reason is the perception that hybrids are small and uncomfortable. Another reason is because of the costs. Rental companies charge more for them, because they cost more. Last, but not least, there are simply not a lot of these kinds of cars available just yet.

Right now, less than 5 percent of the 1.3 million cars available for rent each day are hybrids in the United States. Less than a quarter of the nation’s rental fleet is made up of so-called flex fuel cars that run on E85, the reduced emissions fuel that contains 15 percent corn-based ethanol and is sold at only about 1 percent of the nation’s service stations. This means that it can be hard to even fill up this kind of car.

The last big problem is, of course, the price. These cars are priced like specialty cars. The fact of the matter is that most people can simply not pay that much for a rental car on vacation. People are looking for good deals and ways to save. This goes double for the way the economy is right now. Thus, hybrid cars are getting pushed to the back of the line for the time being.