Travelers are rethinking rental cars
The Washington Post
If you are planning a vacation, then renting a car may be as automatic as making hotel or restaurant reservations. Or not. New ground transportation options are blossoming in the sharing economy. A recent Bank of America review of its credit and debit card users found that people are thinking differently about how they get around.
Total ride sharing transactions increased 109 percent over a one-year period, according to the company. The average customer spent $118 on ride sharing in the summer of 2016, with an average transaction cost of $12. That compares with $116 the previous summer with an average transaction cost of $13. The number of car rental transactions, meanwhile, remained flat, with the average renter spending $373 at an average transaction cost of $251.
The newest options still include hybrid ride sharing services, flexible ownership platforms and courtesy car services. While renting a car still remains a viable choice for many travelers, it is nice to know you have more options — perhaps more than you thought.
It is part of a slow-moving industry trend away from relying on a single mode of transportation, say experts. Ralph Buehler, an associate professor in urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech’s Alexandria Center, studies the rise of multimodality transportation options at home. “It makes sense that people also use multiple modes and non-car modes on vacation,” he says.
Ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft have been embraced by travelers. Amy O’Hara, who works for an online car buying company in Tempe, Ariz., took her 8-yearold daughter to Denver for the Labor Day weekend to catch a preview of the Broadwayshow “Frozen.”
“Knowing we were staying in the downtown area near the theater, I decided against renting a car, to save on parking costs and the hassle of navigating an unfamiliar area,” she says. “We carried on all of our luggage and my daughter’s booster seat, grabbed a Lyft at the airport and were able to walk to a variety of restaurants, the Denver Art Museum, the Taste of Colorado event and the ‘Frozen’ play throughout the weekend.”
All told, they spent about $60 for ground transportation, about half of what they would have on a rental car.
Another option that is gaining traction: car sharing. Lawrence Sorace, a financial adviser from Matawan, N. J., recently discovered Turo, which allows you to rent a car from an owner. Think of it as Airbnb for cars. “People can list their cars for rental during specific times in a particular city that can be rented for an advertised amount,” he says. “It seems like a great idea.”
It is also cost-effective. Mr. Sorace says the prices are about 30 percent lower than car rental rates. I have spoken with numerous renters who say they have seen similar savings on their shared vehicle.
In other arrangements Lyft has created partnerships with public transit agencies, including the transportation authorities of Marin and Solano in Northern California, Orange County Transportation Authority and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Its most popular route in San Francisco is a first-mile, last-mile connection to the Caltrain station. These agreements allow you to hail a Lyft from your hotel and then connect to mass transit with Lyft’s app, which is often a more efficient and costeffective way to reach your destination.
“Lyft is an important complement to public transportation,” said Woody Hartman, Lyft’s vice president of global operations. “As ride sharing continues to grow and more people rely on on-demand transportation, these partnerships become even more important for our communities and for travelers to the cities.”