4 ms·

If people weren't bad actors, I bet you a ride sharing company where you can just get into a car and drive around with it would make big money. Just charge per

If people weren't bad actors, I bet you a ride sharing company where you can just get into a car and drive around with it would make big money. Just charge per minute and allow the owner to track the position continuously.

jimmy1 8y ago
How do you think rental car companies stay in business? You are still liable for the damage to the car if you blatantly abuse it, and you are still liable for property damage or accidents in states that require insurance and insure the driver. This is just a car rental for a shorter amount of time. And in D.C. we had something called ZipCar which was pretty close to that.
- hawaiianbrah 8y ago
  Is ZipCar no longer in DC? They’re in every state I’ve been to. I assume they’re in all of them.
  - jimmy1 8y ago
    Ah sorry if it came out that way, it is I that am no longer in D.C.
- newnewpdro 8y ago
  When I was in the bay area zipcars were consistently driven by some of the worst drivers on the road. It's like tourists in rental cars but worse, since these people often have never owned a car and drive very infrequently. I know people who never drove until their 30s then got a drivers license just to access zipcars. They're exceptionally bad drivers.
  - jimmy1 8y ago
    Right but it doesn't matter if they are bad drivers. They are still liable for damages and any accidents they cause. If you get in a wreck/get a ticket in a ZipCar, it is still your insurance that goes up, and points on your license, and you have to pay the ticket.
    - newnewpdro 8y ago
      Which means nothing to the other drivers and pedestrians sharing space with these hazardous nuisances. Personally I prefer these people use electric scooters than N-thousand-pound >100HP vehicles.
hn_throwaway_99 8y ago
Car2Go? GetAround?
subway 8y ago
BMW, MB, and Lime already do this in Seattle.
reaperducer 8y ago
I bet you a ride sharing company where you can just get into a car and drive around with it would make big money. I used ZipCar when I lived in Chicago and Seattle. Great service. Didn't need to own car in either city because of ZipCar. https://www.zipcar.com https://www.zipcar.com
- stickfigure 8y ago
  ZipCar requires you to return the car to its original spot. With these scooter companies, you take it to where you want to go and leave it. I've never used one of the Bird-type scooters, but I used to commute to the marina in SF on Scoot. It really was the most fantastic way I've never gotten to (and from) work.
  - c22 8y ago
    Car2Go and ReachNow are two other similar services that let you leave the car in any legal parking spot. You can see available stock on a map just like these scooter/bike share companies.
aserafini 8y ago
Already very popular in Berlin, Germany with multiple companies fighting to dominate but the main one is DriveNow. Smartphone app opens the car, drive anywhere, park anywhere, pay as you go.
CaptainZapp 8y ago
It works like at charm and since the early 90s in Switzerland[1] Alas, as a cooperative it's not profit oriented and there are certain restrictions, notably that vehicles are location bound and need to be picked up and returned at fixed stations. That said, with a bit of planning it releases you from the dirty details of car ownership and this for much, much less money. There are other ventures in the form as you describe it (private ownership loaned out). But to the best of my knowledge that never caught on.[2] (German and French only) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobility_Carsharing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobility_Carsharing [2] https://sharoo.com/ https://sharoo.com/

jimmy1 8y ago

How do you think rental car companies stay in business? You are still liable for the damage to the car if you blatantly abuse it, and you are still liable for property damage or accidents in states that require insurance and insure the driver. This is just a car rental for a shorter amount of time. And in D.C. we had something called ZipCar which was pretty close to that.

hawaiianbrah 8y ago
Is ZipCar no longer in DC? They’re in every state I’ve been to. I assume they’re in all of them.
- jimmy1 8y ago
  Ah sorry if it came out that way, it is I that am no longer in D.C.
newnewpdro 8y ago
When I was in the bay area zipcars were consistently driven by some of the worst drivers on the road. It's like tourists in rental cars but worse, since these people often have never owned a car and drive very infrequently. I know people who never drove until their 30s then got a drivers license just to access zipcars. They're exceptionally bad drivers.
- jimmy1 8y ago
  Right but it doesn't matter if they are bad drivers. They are still liable for damages and any accidents they cause. If you get in a wreck/get a ticket in a ZipCar, it is still your insurance that goes up, and points on your license, and you have to pay the ticket.
  - newnewpdro 8y ago
    Which means nothing to the other drivers and pedestrians sharing space with these hazardous nuisances. Personally I prefer these people use electric scooters than N-thousand-pound >100HP vehicles.

hn_throwaway_99 8y ago

Car2Go? GetAround?

subway 8y ago

BMW, MB, and Lime already do this in Seattle.

reaperducer 8y ago

I bet you a ride sharing company where you can just get into a car and drive around with it would make big money. I used ZipCar when I lived in Chicago and Seattle. Great service. Didn't need to own car in either city because of ZipCar. https://www.zipcar.com https://www.zipcar.com

stickfigure 8y ago
ZipCar requires you to return the car to its original spot. With these scooter companies, you take it to where you want to go and leave it. I've never used one of the Bird-type scooters, but I used to commute to the marina in SF on Scoot. It really was the most fantastic way I've never gotten to (and from) work.
- c22 8y ago
  Car2Go and ReachNow are two other similar services that let you leave the car in any legal parking spot. You can see available stock on a map just like these scooter/bike share companies.

aserafini 8y ago

Already very popular in Berlin, Germany with multiple companies fighting to dominate but the main one is DriveNow. Smartphone app opens the car, drive anywhere, park anywhere, pay as you go.

CaptainZapp 8y ago

It works like at charm and since the early 90s in Switzerland[1] Alas, as a cooperative it's not profit oriented and there are certain restrictions, notably that vehicles are location bound and need to be picked up and returned at fixed stations. That said, with a bit of planning it releases you from the dirty details of car ownership and this for much, much less money. There are other ventures in the form as you describe it (private ownership loaned out). But to the best of my knowledge that never caught on.[2] (German and French only) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobility_Carsharing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobility_Carsharing [2] https://sharoo.com/ https://sharoo.com/