Could Ridesharing work? - Green-Racer.com

kevingalls · 05-06-2010, 12:27 PM

Whether you're a green motoring enthusiast or a technology nerd, you've probably heard about iPhone apps that help you carpool. With tools such as PickupPal, Zipride, Ridester, 511 Rideshare, it's becoming popular to find carpool buddies online. It helps the environment, improves road congestion, and gives you somebody to converse with on that commute. Anybody who's used Craigslist to buy or sell things knows that finding random people online can be good or really bad. Therefore, you might need additional motivation to offer somebody a ride to work who doesn't own a car. Perhaps if they paid you in cold hard cash?

Currently it is illegal for you to rent your private vehicle to people for money in most states. Insurance companies understandably don't like the idea, nor does the government since they would like to collect tax money from licensed taxi services. In San Francisco there have been questions raised lately about this. Few people in San Francisco own cars since garages, parking, and taxes are so high there. On one end there are pedestrians and public transportation users. On the other end, there are car owners spending lots of money for their cars to sit. Inevitably the demand for private car sharing was going to come up and money talks. You could decide on your rate, and rent out your vehicle to someone in need. This would be facilitated through an organization which absorbs the insurance costs for that day's rental and you get paid. The renter would be able to find a vehicle when he/she needed, and you'd be able to collect money for lending out your car.

A new bill in California (AB 1871) has been written up to change California law to allow personal vehicles to be rented out, without the risk of losing insurance coverage. Companies like Zipcar have allowed people to find hourly rental cars belonging to Zipcar for a while now. Many people in urban areas have already chosen a lifestyle without owning an expensive 3,000 pound hunk of metal. Hertz and other rental companies have already adopted hourly rentals so the idea of renting out our own cars isn't too mindblowing. If being green is all about efficiency, hooking idle cars up with people in need of wheels is smart.

Would you consider renting your car out to the public? Would you consider driving a stranger's car? What drawbacks or benefits do you see? Leave your feedback in the comments.

kevingalls · 05-06-2010, 12:36 PM

I'm sure lots of people would consider renting their cars out, even if just to pay for a tank of gas. Trouble is, to be fair to the renter you'd have to start them with a full tank so it takes some small level of investment, besides risking your vehicle.

05-06-2010, 12:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
kevingalls Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Rockville, MD Posts: 32	Could Ridesharing work? Whether you're a green motoring enthusiast or a technology nerd, you've probably heard about iPhone apps that help you carpool. With tools such as PickupPal, Zipride, Ridester, 511 Rideshare, it's becoming popular to find carpool buddies online. It helps the environment, improves road congestion, and gives you somebody to converse with on that commute. Anybody who's used Craigslist to buy or sell things knows that finding random people online can be good or really bad. Therefore, you might need additional motivation to offer somebody a ride to work who doesn't own a car. Perhaps if they paid you in cold hard cash? Currently it is illegal for you to rent your private vehicle to people for money in most states. Insurance companies understandably don't like the idea, nor does the government since they would like to collect tax money from licensed taxi services. In San Francisco there have been questions raised lately about this. Few people in San Francisco own cars since garages, parking, and taxes are so high there. On one end there are pedestrians and public transportation users. On the other end, there are car owners spending lots of money for their cars to sit. Inevitably the demand for private car sharing was going to come up and money talks. You could decide on your rate, and rent out your vehicle to someone in need. This would be facilitated through an organization which absorbs the insurance costs for that day's rental and you get paid. The renter would be able to find a vehicle when he/she needed, and you'd be able to collect money for lending out your car. A new bill in California (AB 1871) has been written up to change California law to allow personal vehicles to be rented out, without the risk of losing insurance coverage. Companies like Zipcar have allowed people to find hourly rental cars belonging to Zipcar for a while now. Many people in urban areas have already chosen a lifestyle without owning an expensive 3,000 pound hunk of metal. Hertz and other rental companies have already adopted hourly rentals so the idea of renting out our own cars isn't too mindblowing. If being green is all about efficiency, hooking idle cars up with people in need of wheels is smart. Would you consider renting your car out to the public? Would you consider driving a stranger's car? What drawbacks or benefits do you see? Leave your feedback in the comments.

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05-06-2010, 12:36 PM	#2 (permalink)
kevingalls Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Rockville, MD Posts: 32	I'm sure lots of people would consider renting their cars out, even if just to pay for a tank of gas. Trouble is, to be fair to the renter you'd have to start them with a full tank so it takes some small level of investment, besides risking your vehicle.