A new car rental service is planning on launching in British Columbia.
American company Turo describes itself as the the world’s largest peer-to-peer car sharing platform and has secured insurance coverage from ICBC to operate here. There is no specific date on when the service will be available other than the goal to be operating this summer.
Unlike Lyft and Uber, which are designed more like taxi companies, Turo is set up like a car rental system where owners rent their cars directly to customers.
“Bringing Turo to B.C. has been in the works for many years and we’re excited to finally be in a position to safely introduce our trusted platform and community to the province,” Turo’s head of Canada, Cedric Mathieu said.
“It’s high time British Columbians reaped the huge benefits of peer-to-peer car sharing, which other Canadian provinces have enjoyed for the past four years.”
The entry of ridesharing to British Columbia has been bumpy and well-documented. Few companies have been able to set up operations in British Columbia due to slow implementation of rules and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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Current operators, including Lyft and Uber, recently sent a letter to the B.C. government asking for a relaxing of rules including waiving the requirement for drivers to have a class 4 drivers licence to operate.
In a release, Turo says it launched a pilot program in B.C. in 2017 in partnership with independent car rental companies but was not able to operate alone until now.
The company has operated in Canada since 2016 and has 850,000 members throughout Canada with 35,000 cars listed across Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
Turo says its hosts earn an average of $620 per month in other provinces where it is available.
“With cross-border travel at a standstill, Turo will offer British Columbians a more exciting, safe and convenient way to move around their cities and explore their beautiful province this summer,” Mathieu said.
Turo is now working on getting car owners to sign up as hosts in British Columbia.
Car owners set a price for how much the vehicle can be rented for with an additional trip fee going to Turo. The car can also be directly delivered with an additional cost.
In terms of insurance, owners will be able to rent a car this year on Turo without additional ICBC costs. If an owner is renting the vehicle they must notify the ICBC broker at the time of renewal.
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