Lockdown stalled any chance of rental cars being allowed out, with only essential travel permitted.
It has meant the fleets of rental cars usually seen around Canterbury and Otago have been parked up.
Act Now Car Rentals owner Norm Fagg, of Queenstown, said it was a question of waiting.
“It has done everything it possibly can to me. I am just a one-man band.”
He said he had two cars out when the lockdown was called and one stranded outside Christchurch, with the Swedish renters intending to fly home when possible.
Act Now has a fleet of 35 cars, which would normally be in high demand.
"All the people I had have cancelled, so I have no future revenue in the foreseeable future."
He said alert level 2 would enable him to get back to work, but he questioned who would be able to afford to rent a car or go away, with many losing their jobs or having reduced income.
