How To Start a Car-Sharing Business

How To Start a Car-Sharing Business

It might be easier to buy a car because the price is one-off, but the expenses that come with owning a car turn many people off. A car attracts gas, insurance, maintenance and taxes among other costs. Even worse, car owners will pay for parking each day and if bought on loan, pay for interest on loans taken to buy a car.
With the above expenses, people are using public transportation more. Even with public transport, there is a day that you might absolutely be in need of a car. That is why people look for other transportation options. Besides rental cars, you can turn to a car sharing company. This is a way to cut the cost of owning, leasing or renting a car.

How Does Car-Sharing Work?

With car sharing, an individual pays a yearly fee to the car sharing company. This fee gives them access to a fleet of shared cars whenever they need them. Most car-sharing companies require you to make reservations on an hourly or a daily basis. The rates fall between $5 and $15 per hour for a shared car. This is the cost that goes towards fuel, cleaning, insurance, and maintenance. After paying the required fees, all the car expenses are taken care of by the car-sharing company.

By using a shared car, an individual saves money. This also benefits the environment seeing that the number of vehicles on the road is reduced. A single shared car takes the place of about eight private cars. Since the car sharing company needs to save money, they will only offer fuel efficient cars or hybrid cars to their clients.

Starting a Car-Share Business

Not all car sharing businesses are for profit; some are non-profit. A good example of a non-profit car-share business is the San Francisco CarShare program.

To start a Car-Sharing business, high initial costs are incurred. These costs cater for buying, registering and insuring cars. However, a car-sharing company is highly profitable with good marketing.
A car-sharing business should be marketed to three groups of people:
• People living in the city and do not need cars frequently. This saves them money.
• College students
• Business owners who need to cut down costs of owning a car

Top Car Sharing Companies Helping People Cut Down Car Ownership Costs

Connect by Hertz

This is a car sharing company operating in France, Canada, Germany, UK, Spain and the US. In the US, the company operates in more than 20 cities and also operates on college campuses. To serve their clients better, the business has a fleet of cars including Toyota Camry, BMW Mini, and Toyota Prius.

ZipCar

Zipcar is the biggest car-sharing firm in the world. It is highly widespread, making it the most popular in the US, UK, and Canada. In the US, the company serves more than 50 cities and more than 100 colleges. Besides cars for individuals and college students, Zipcar runs a corporate car-share program as well. They have partnered with ZimRide, a social ridesharing network, to ensure that the impact on the environment is significantly reduced.

Business Exotic Car Share

This is a car-sharing business that offers luxury car sharing alone. If you find it expensive to own a luxury car and you need one once in a while, Business Exotic Car Share offers you the experience of driving one. They have cars such as Ferrari 355F1 Spider, Corvette Z51 Convertible, and Dodge Viper GTS Coupe.