Car-sharing company Turo says its data shows vehicles in British Columbia sit idle 95% of the time, “which is a huge waste of resources and public space.”
Content of the article
The Vancouver council will consider whether to explore the possibility of more easily renting a stranger’s van to help with a move, or earning a few extra dollars with your own car when not in use.
Advertising
This ad has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Peer-to-peer car sharing is a relatively new service in Vancouver.
Unlike car-sharing services like Evo, where customers drive themselves using a company’s fleet of cars, or ride-sharing companies like Lyft or Uber, where passengers use their smartphones to summon a paying driver to a trip, these services allow private car owners to rent their vehicles to other drivers.
Peer-to-peer carsharing has been around in British Columbia since the first such service, Turo, spear in June 2020, a month after announcing that ICBC had granted insurance coverage to the company. Basic general insurance offered by ICBC provides coverage for accident benefits and liability up to $200,000.
Advertising
This ad has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
The motion, dumb. Lisa Dominato would ask staff to talk to peer-to-peer car-sharing companies and report on how to encourage such services. The motion mentions a few possibilities, such as allowing peer-to-peer cars to park in “residents-only” spots, which are already permitted for car-sharing vehicles.
Dominato says peer-to-peer car-sharing can fill the void left by the departure of Car2Go, a German company that had more than 230,000 customers in Vancouver before it close North American operations in 2020.
This option can also reduce the need to own a personal car, Dominato said. “Instead of owning their own vehicle, residents can access the fleet of vehicles already in town.”
Turo, a San Francisco-based company that describes itself as “the world’s largest car-sharing marketplace,” touts its service as making it easier to not own a car and more affordable for those who do.
Advertising
This ad has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Cedric Mathieu, Turo’s head of Canada, said many of the company’s “hosts” can earn enough renting their cars to cover monthly ownership costs, with Canadian car renters earning an average of $798 per month in course of the last year.
“Because owning a car remains a necessity for many of the city’s working families despite the variety of mobility and public transit options available, it’s crucial that the city encourages residents to share cars with each other. , paving the way for fewer cars on city streets,” he said.
Turo data shows that vehicles in British Columbia sit idle 95% of the time, Mathieu said, “which represents a huge waste of resources and public space, and an equally huge opportunity for transportation. By maximizing the use of Vancouver’s 300,000 cars and making many of them accessible to everyone, we can help put an end to the ever-increasing number of cars in the city.
More news, fewer ads, faster loading times: Get unlimited, lightweight access to the Vancouver Sun, Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites for just $14/month or $140/year. Subscribe now via Vancouver Sun Where Province.
