RelayRides uses an electronic sensor, similar to this one on a Zipcar, that lets the driver unlock the car with a swipe card.(Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News/File 2009)
Innovation Economy
RelayRides trip had some bumps
RelayRides uses an electronic sensor, similar to this one on a Zipcar, that lets the driver unlock the car with a swipe card.(Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News/File 2009)
Highlights from Scott Kirsner’s Innovation Economy blog.
When I needed wheels for a quick trip to Plymouth, I didn’t reserve at Avis or grab a Zipcar from one of its designated spots. Instead, I popped the locks on a neighbor’s car when he wasn’t around and took off. It was cheaper than the other options.
While it sounds illicit, borrowing a neighbor’s car when it isn’t being used is the concept behind RelayRides, a Cambridge start-up I wrote about earlier this year.
Instead of leasing a fleet of vehicles, as Zipcar does, RelayRides finds people who have underutilized cars and would not mind earning a little money with them. Car owners pocket some of the hourly rental fees paid by RelayRides members, with the company taking a percentage for facilitating the transaction and insuring the drivers.
RelayRides also installs the necessary technology in each car.
The company has been running a test this summer in Cambridge and Somerville, with a few dozen vehicles. I signed up in June and received $25 worth of free rental credit for doing so. A few days later, a membership card arrived. Embedded in it was an RFID chip that gives me access to the RelayRides fleet.
It wasn’t until recently that the stars aligned and I made a reservation. Since there are no RelayRides cars in my neighborhood, I needed to wait for a day when I had time to walk 20 minutes to Porter Square in Cambridge. (Google Maps pinpointed the parking spot as exactly a mile away, though the RelayRides site said 0.66 miles.) I booked a neighbor’s 2003 Toyota Matrix from 10:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. The hourly rate, including gas and insurance, was $7.
Here’s my take on the experience:
Pros
The biggest advantage is cost. My rental totaled $35.33; the use of a newer Toyota Matrix a bit closer to my home with Zipcar would have cost $49.14.RelayRides also lets you reserve cars in 15-minute increments; Zipcar limits you to half-hour chunks. With Zipcar, that policy would have forced me to pay for 15 minutes I didn’t need.
I found the car easily and waved my card over a sensor on the windshield. The locks popped open. Inside, I found a key to the ignition and a note from the owners informing me I was their first renter.
The note apologized that the driver’s side window didn’t work and said it would be repaired. Clipped to the note was a $4 “rebate’’ (folded bills), which I decided not to take.
On the passenger’s seat was a tote bag full of maps. In the tape deck was an adapter that enabled me to plug in my iPhone so I could listen to my own tunes. There was just over one-third of a tank of gas. The carpets had not been vacuumed recently, but the interior was relatively clean.
Unlike Zipcar, RelayRides features a small digital display and keypad mounted at the top of the windshield, just to the left of the rear-view mirror. It shows you the current time, the miles you’ve driven, and the start and end times for your reservation. I liked being able to see the “official’’ RelayRides time, since RelayRides charges $50 if you return the car late. (Zipcar has an identical penalty.) Stashed in a slot just behind the display is a credit card that enables you to fill the car up with gas, if necessary.
On my return trip, I left Plymouth a bit late, and traffic was worse than I expected, so it was quickly clear I’d need to add a half-hour to the reservation. I called the number on my membership card, an operator helped me out, and within minutes the updated reservation time showed up on the car’s display.
Cons
The Matrix had 86,000 miles on it, and once I hit the road, it had a bit of a rattletrap feel. The brakes and suspension were about as loosey-goosey as you’d expect from a seven-year-old car that has done a lot of city driving. The nonfunctional window would have been annoying if I’d had to pay any tolls.Bottom line
I’ve been a Zipcar member for three years, and while the rates are higher than with RelayRides, I’ll continue using Zipcar for two reasons: convenience and confidence.The cars are closer to where I live (and convenient to use when I travel to other big cities where Zipcar has a presence). I’m confident they’ll be well maintained and relatively new.
But if RelayRides starts adding cars closer to me, and especially if they add vehicles that Zipcar doesn’t offer, I’ll probably use it more frequently.
I called RelayRides founder Shelby Clark to check some facts, and he mentioned that a sporty Audi S4 may soon join the fleet. The service has also occasionally offered access to a Porsche Cayenne. Some minivans or big SUVs would be handy, too.
Clark said the service will officially be launched Sept. 1; the company is also looking for “community organizers’’ to help RelayRides expand outside of Cambridge (within a 50-mile radius.)
RelayRides is still offering $25 in driving credit to new members.
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