Airbnb is a service that allows strangers to rent out a home or room from a local, but would you let a stranger drive your car?
A new service on the West Coast will allow travelers to park at the airport for free and catch a flight, all the while making money.
TravelCar, deemed as the first European peer-to-peer car sharing platform for travelers at airports and train stations, is launching their services at a few airports in the United States.
The new service will allow travelers to share their car with an incoming traveler or a local while they are away.
According to a statement on the company website, the car service will allow drivers to “rent in a smart way and allows car owners to void paying parking fees.”
Shant Mouradian, spokesperson for TravelCar, told CBS8 San Diego, “You look at companies like Airbnb, where companies share their homes. So, we are just the next generation [of] car sharing.”
So, how does the car service work?
Renting the car is a process managed by TravelCar and the owner’s vehicle is covered by the company’s comprehensive insurance.
Car owners will park their cars at the airport for free and a cleaning crew will clean the car, insure it, then rent to arriving passengers.
People renting the car will pay the car’s owner a portion for each mile they drive.
According to TravelCar, travelers rent their car for up to 70 percent less than traditional car rentals.
“It’s the wave of the future. People are now sharing more and more things. You think of all these app that make life easier for people,” Mouradian told CBS8.
As of now, TravelCar is offering its services at airports in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and San Diego is the next city on its list.