Don't need your car today? How about renting it out?
In California, three companies have started up to allow car owners to connect with people are who are looking for cars to rent for a few hours. The pitch is that it's an environmentally friendly way to share your car, make a few bucks and not worry about liability.
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If you're like most people, your car spends a lot more time parked, than running.
In California, three companies are trying to help you make a buck, or several hundred bucks, off of your parked automobile. Relay Rides, Car-2-Go and Getaround have all sprung up since a law was introduced that allows a third party to provide insurance to someone driving a car owned by another person. It sounds complicated, but it's really quite simple.
You own a car. You leave it parked a lot. Someone else doesn't own a car. Every now and again they need something to drive. Through one of these companies, the two people are connected, the company provides insurance to the driver and the owner gets the majority of the money paid by the driver.
"Getaround is a marketplace for car sharing. We allow car owners to list their cars on our site and we allow them to choose who to rent to," said Jessica Scorpio, co-founder of Getaround.
Through all three services, two of which ar aligned or owned by major car manufacturers, car owners set the prices that people pay. With Getaround, car owners and car renters can choose to meet up to exchange keys, or smart phone technology can allow the renters access to the car. The other services typically provide just the remote unlock functionality.
"We like (in person swaps) a lot because people create a relationship," Scorpio said.
Scorpio said Getaround has cars for rent anywhere from $3 per hour, up to $50 or $75 per hour. Those rates cover cars like a Tesla Roadster and other high-demand, high-expense vehicles. She said they've found that people who borrow cars tend to be more respectful than when renting cars from a large corporation.
So far, car owners are making $300 per month or more.
The services, currently available in San Francisco, are looking to expand. Scorpio said Oregon hasn't recently enacted a law allowing these sorts of companies to operate there, and she said others are considering them. Relay
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