By Catherine Powell
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| Image courtesy wikimedia |
Having been in the insurance business for
many years, I’ve pretty much thought I’d seen everything there was to see in
the automotive world. Then along comes
carsharing and suddenly a whole new world opens up. That’s because there’s more ways than one to
share a car. You can rent a car for a
few hours or by the day from companies like Zipcar or Car2Go, but you can also
rent cars from individuals or rent your own car to the public or drive for
companies like Uber and Lyft. If you’re
looking to get your share of the carshare market, there are a few things you
need to know.
1.
Carsharing can
save you money.
– The cost to own and operate the average car for a year in the US in 2017 was
more than $8,500. What with car
payments, fuel, and maintenance, owning a car is not cheap. For most people, it is the second highest
expense they pay after housing. Because
those who use car sharing only pay for the time they use the car, the cost to
share a ride can be more cost-effective than owning a car, if you aren’t a road
warrior who drives extensively for business purposes. (Even if you do and your spouse or
significant other doesn’t, carsharing can be less expensive than owning a
second car depending on how often the second car is used.)
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| Image courtesy Pixabay |
2.
The different kinds
of carsharing
– Not designed as a 1-size-fits all industry, carsharing comes in a number of
flavors. There’s Roundtrip Carsharing
and One-Way Station Base carsharing where vehicles are picked up and/or
returned to a dedicated parking lot.
Zipcar, for instance, offers both these models. One-Way Free Floating carsharing on the
other hand is designed to let members park the car when they’re through with it
anywhere within a designated zone. Last
but not least is what’s called peer-to-peer sharing where companies broker
rentals to privately owned vehicles for a piece of the action. Uber is one of
the premier peer-to-peer ridesharing platforms in use today.
3.
Carsharing isn’t
new
– This kind of service isn’t as new as some would believe. Carsharing has been around since the
1980’s. The difference today is the
sheer scope of car-sharing. Where the
number of subscribers to car sharing services was only a few million in the
80’s and 90’s, by 2015, membership had soared to 35 million users in the US and
in 2018, there were more than 66 million.
Industry statistics predict more than 86 million US drivers will use
some form of carsharing service by the year 2021.
4.
Which kind of
ride-sharing works best for you? – Before
you sell your car and opt to carshare, you need to consider the implications. Since
the cost of carsharing is predicated on how often and far you drive, this is
where you need to crunch some numbers.
For instance, the cost to rent a car or SUV n Jacksonville with Zipcar
is $9-$10 per hour. However, if you need
the car for a day or a weekend, the posted cost is as low as $74 per day. (The posted weekend rate for a car is $248
and an SUV is $260.
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| Image courtesy flickr |
5.
Should you share
your car? –
While picking up some folding green on the weekend as an Uber or Lyft driver is
a way to help make your car payments, you still need to crunch the numbers to
see if the added expense is going to be worth your while. While peer-to-peer companies like Uber and
Lyft can facilitate transactions, their drivers are still on the hook for fuel,
maintenance and insurance. (Before you sign up you need to get a quote from
your insurance agent as to the coverage you’ll need and the cost.)
Renting
your car out to strangers is another matter.
One company that facilitates this kind of peer-to-peer arrangement is
Turo.com. When I entered my 2018 Hyundai
Sonata into their earnings calculator, it estimated that I could earn $264 per
month if I rented my car through their service for 7-days per month. The service itself works much like Airbnb
where you list your property (in this case your car) online and people respond
to rent it. Just like Airbnb, Turo and
other peer-to-peer carsharing services of this kind provide the portal to
facilitate bookings, then they take a piece of the action for making the
connection and handling the transaction.
They also provide additional liability insurance coverage and roadside
assistance. But you are still responsible
for insuring your car and that can be a stretch since this kind of service is
still new. Many insurance carriers are
reluctant to carry these policies, even as commercial coverage. (Again, touch base with your insurance agent
before you sign up for this kind of peer-to-peer service.)
6.
How does car-sharing
effect my auto insurance? – Depending on the type of carsharing you do will
depend on the insurance coverage you’ll need.
If you opt to rent through services such as Zipcar or Car2Go, the
insurance is covered by the rental company.
If you drive for Uber or Lyft you may need to carry additional auto
insurance. If you book a ride through
Uber or Lyft you don’t, since you’re technically in a taxicab.
7.
Where else can I
save by using carsharing? – Another nicety of carsharing is you’re
not responsible for maintenance, carwashes or gas. That’s all covered by the membership. You also get to choose from a number of different
makes and models, depending on your membership.
This feature can come in handy if your sister needs help moving a dryer,
since vans and SUV’s are available in most ridesharing fleets.
Whether you’re looking to save money or make money
with carsharing, you need to do your homework first. I recommend you talk to other people who are
using or who have used any of these services first. You can also surf the web to find out what
people have to say about various carsharing services. While the concept of carsharing has come a
long way, the road to its wider acceptance still has a long way to go for many
people.
Catherine Powell is the owner of A Plus
All Florida, Insurance in Orange Park, Florida.
To find out more about saving money on your auto insurance, check out
her website at http://autoinsuranceorangeparkfl.com/
There are several automotive technologies like carsharing and autonomous vehicles whose time has almost come. As to nay sayers, all I can say is I can remember when a lot of people said the Internet was a passing fad.
ReplyDeleteNever used a car sharing service, it sound very interesting and I like the part that it save you money.;D
ReplyDeleteGreat Info!!! Thanks for sharing information with us. If someone wants to know about car sharing app I think this is the right place for you.
ReplyDelete