AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
By Scott Doggett October 7, 2011
General Motors and RelayRides, a neighbor-to-neighbor car-sharing online marketplace, have announced an exclusive relationship that will allow owners of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles who subscribe to the OnStar system to use it to rent out their automobiles. The program, which will launch in early 2012, is GM's first major involvement in car sharing. San Francisco-based RelayRides allows private automobile owners to rent their vehicles on a short-term basis, via an online interface. Lenders and borrowers can set their own prices, and the company takes 15 percent.
The service is currently limited to Boston and San Francisco, but RelayRides has national ambitions. The company, which has received financial support from Google Ventures, estimates that vehicle owners can earn from $2,300 to $7,400 annually, based on hourly rental rates that typically range from $6 to $12. In the United States, Canada and China, drivers and passengers of vehicles equipped with the OnStar system and who pay for the service can use its audio interface to contact OnStar representatives for emergency services, vehicle diagnostics and directions.
RelayRides will leverage OnStar technology through a mobile application planned for early next year to allow customers to check for available vehicles, make a online reservation online as well as check future reservations, locate their reserved vehicle via GPS and lock and unlock the vehicle, all through their smart phones. For vehicles that are not OnStar enabled, RelayRides must install a small device in the car to provide access to borrowers. According to Innovative Mobility Research, car sharing in North America has grown from 400,000 users in 2009 to 640,000 in July 2011. A study from Frost & Sullivan projects car sharing will have an estimated 4.4 million users by 2016.
Scott Doggett: is an AutoObserver.com Associate Editor.
0 comments:
Post a Comment