Car sharing is a great way to eliminate your need for a personal vehicle while ensuring that you have wheels to travel distances that are too far to bike or walk. (It’s also handy in bad weather too).
Commerical car-sharing services, like Zipcar or Phillycarshare, are perfect solutions for those living in urban areas, but what about those of us living in the suburbs or even rural areas?
Until population creates enough demand for the big car sharing companies to set up shop, peer-to-peer car sharing is a great way to rent cars from the people around you in a completely legal manner.
If you’re interested in setting up a network of shareable cars in your neighborhood, here are some sites that can help:
GetAround:Enables car owners to safely rent out their underutilized cars by the hour to a community of trusted drivers via a website or mobile app.
RelayRides:Not only do RelayRides start at $5/hr with gas and insurance included, but since the cars belong to your neighbors, they’re conveniently located just down the street.
JustShare It:这个即将推出的网站还将让你出租其他车辆，如房车、船只或摩托车。
WhipCar:一家总部位于英国的汽车俱乐部，将安全的司机与不用车的车主配对。所有whipcar都经过独立审查，确保一辆坏车不会毁了你的一天。
Have you ever tried car sharing? Tell us about it in a comment!
NO FEE PEER TO PEER CAR SHARING
The peer to peer car sharing companies listed above CHARGE car owners a commission for each car rental. RentMyCar.com does NOT charge a fee. This type of business model will be more successful than the ones identified above because car owners do NOT want to pay commission fees if they do NOT have to.
Hi David,
Thanks for all of your comments! I agree with you in one sense: if people have a choice between identical services for car sharing they’ll opt for the free service every time. However, I see that while you don’t charge members to list their car or search your site, there are plenty of additional “fees” should they want an enhanced listing, temporary insurance coverage, or to take advantage of the Virtual Vehicle Rental Sticker (VVRS) system you mentioned. I believe the nominal fees associated with the sites listed in this post are justified because of the comprehensive service and legal assurance they provide. In any case it sounds like you are very sure of your vision, and I look forward to watching your site develop.
Beth