An increasing number of holidaymakers in Shenzhen are turning to renting cars to go home for Spring Festival family reunion to avoid train crowds.

Most rent-a-car companies have had nearly 90 percent of their vehicles booked or rented, Chinese-language newspapers reported Thursday.

Patrons included enterprises, who rent buses and minibuses for employees and individuals who booked cars to drive home with their families.

Most renters were migrants from Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and Guangxi, reports said.

Vans with seven to nine seats are most popular among individual customers, with plenty of space for luggage and family members.

The rent for sedans such as Jetta and Santana is 350 yuan (US$42) to 450 yuan a day and 600 yuan to 1,000 yuan for vans. Apart from the rent, renters must pay for their own fuel and oil, tollgate fees and a service charge, the rental firms said. A hired driver costs 100 yuan to 200 yuan each day.

Renters are required to pay 5,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan as a deposit.

In another development, inland provinces such as Anhui, Jiangxi and Hunan, which have a large number of laborers working in Shenzhen, opened extra long-distance coach routes to transport people home.

 
Editor: Catherine