Car-sharing drives home savings and convenience
8 November 2017
Car-sharing drives home savings and convenience for Kiwis this Christmas
New Zealanders
keen to save extra cash to fill up the Christmas stockings
or after a set of wheels to get from A to B during the
festive season may find the solution lies within an
innovative peer-to-peer car-sharing community.
Yourdrive.co.nz, dubbed ‘the AirBnB of
car rentals’, is leading the way for car-sharing in New
Zealand, giving Kiwis increased options around car use.
Yourdrive is built on the ‘sharing economy’ model, and
connects a flourishing database of car renters with car
owners in nearby neighbourhoods.
Yourdrive founder
Oscar Ellison is focused on making car rental experiences
personable, convenient and accessible to
everyone.
“What we’ve found is that a lot of
people are moving away from car ownership as they live in
more dense areas, have better access to public transport or
don’t want the ongoing costs that come with owning their
own vehicles. They enjoy having the freedom to select a car
they’d like to drive and renting directly from locals,
whenever they need a car. Whether it be a day trip, a
Christmas shopping excursion, or a summer holiday getaway,
there is a growing shift towards car sharing globally,”
says Ellison.
“With the holiday season just around
the corner, New Zealand car owners have a convenient way to
make money off their vehicles when they aren’t using them
– they can turn an idle ride into an earning
asset.”
Using the online platform, people can search
for vehicles located in areas they are travelling to, or
rent from locals in their neighbourhood. They then meet at
an agreed location to hand over the keys, which often also
leads to the exchange of local knowledge and journey
tips.
While car sharing is practical, and provides a
sense of community, the advantages don’t stop there – it
can be a lucrative side-earner. Depending on the value, make
and model of a vehicle (which determines the recommended
rental rate), an owner could earn up to $10,000 a year by
renting out their car through Yourdrive.
The rewards
are already starting to be seen on a large scale –
collectively, over $500,000 has been made by car owners that
have rented out their cars through Yourdrive since the
website first launched two years ago.
For renters, the
savings is also significant. They don’t have to foot the
bills associated with vehicle ownership; purchasing a car,
registration, WOF, servicing, maintenance and fuel costs.
People can rent cars they dream of owning – whether it be
by the hour, day, week or longer for summer road trips –
or simply stick to wheels on a budget to get around
town.
“Whatever their budget and desires, people
will find the right car for their needs within the
community,” says Ellison. “We’re finding many
millennials who enjoy an urban lifestyle without owning a
car still have the freedom of renting a car for a day
excursion to the beach or countryside or to visit friends
and family.”
Car-sharing also has numerous
environmental benefits - for every car shared, there is a
reduction in the number of owned vehicles on the road – by
around 10-15. With latest figures from the NZ Transport
Agency showing that there are 800 new vehicles each week
registered in Auckland alone, renting cars that are already
registered could assist in easing congestion on the
roads.
“This not only helps provide a solution to our country’s traffic problems, but it’s also kinder on the environment - helping to reduce greenhouse gases produced during the manufacturing of new vehicles,” says Ellison.
The concept for Yourdrive was borne out of
Ellison’s frustrations with the high cost of car ownership
after he returned to Auckland from his O.E. The young
entrepreneur launched Yourdrive in 2015 and it quickly
caught the attention of transport company JUCY, which bought
a 50 percent share in Yourdrive last year and now offers car
sharing as an alternative transport option to its rental car
fleet.
“New Zealand has one of the highest rates of
car ownership in the world*, and cars often sit unused in
garages and driveways around the country, so this provides a
win-win solution.”
Today, Yourdrive has more than
450 cars live on its platform and on an average day, 40 cars
are shared via the platform. During peak times of the year,
more than 250 cars booked through Yourdrive are on the road
at any one time, while owners have peace of mind knowing
their cars are covered by comprehensive insurance while in
use.
Before joining, each driver is screened to ensure
they have a valid driver licence, and a five-star review
system works both ways for renters and car
owners.
“There’s been a huge shift from traditional
business models to peer-to-peer business models in recent
years,” says Ellison.
“We’ve seen the rise and
success of Bookabach and Airbnb, and now Yourdrive is
helping keep people in New Zealand mobile. It’s about
generating new streams of revenue for car owners while
giving drivers more freedom to get around our beautiful
country.”
ends