Hoping to reduce her costs and her carbon footprint, Genevieve Hachey of Dartmouth, NS, decided to share her car with people looking for a ride.
She searched online for a way to do this and came across Turo, which she describes as “the Airbnb for cars.” The peer-to-peer car-sharing service connects vehicle owners with drivers who want to travel.
“I was thinking about…how we all own so much and how it would make a lot more sense to be able to share the things we own instead of everyone having one of everything,” Hachey told CBC Radio. Information morning.
With a shortage of rental cars due to the pandemic, the managing director of the company’s Canadian division says car-sharing is becoming an attractive option for more people.
The San Francisco-based company launched in Nova Scotia in 2019 and expanded this week to Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island. Cedric Mathieu of Turo Canada said Nova Scotia was the company’s fastest growing market.
Hachey said it became a way for her to earn extra money.
Over the past month, about 100 hosts in Nova Scotia have earned an average of $580 per month, Mathieu said. He said that during the busiest travel months, people can get close to $1,200 a month.
Most people rent their cars about seven days a month, he said.
Turo takes part of the income and in exchange covers the insurance.
“We will cover both the car, the guest and the host while the car is on the road and it will stop as soon as the booking is complete,” Mathieu said.
Understanding Insurance
Hachey said it’s important for car owners to do their homework before signing up.
She said she needed permission from her personal insurance company to list her car with Turo and ended up switching providers because the first company wouldn’t let her.
Most of the people using Hachey’s car are visitors from outside the Halifax area, looking for a way to get around the province.
She recently rented her car to a couple from Montreal who visited Peggy’s Cove. Another couple booked it for three weeks in September.
Hachey chooses the price she wants to list for her car, then performs a checkup on the vehicle before and after the drivers give it a ride.
Still, she said picking up the keys can be a little nerve-wracking.
“It feels like it’s a little risky,” she said. “It feels good to know I’m covered by insurance, although you never know how people are going to treat your vehicle. You have the ability to turn people away, and it’s priced.”
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