Innovative Mobility: Carsharing Outlook

Peer-to-peer (P2P) carsharing employs privately owned vehicles made temporarily available for shared use by an individual or members of a P2P carsharing network. Expenditures, such as insurance, are generally covered by the P2P operator during the access period. In exchange for providing the service, operators keep a portion of the usage fee. Members can access vehicles through a direct key or combination transfer from the owner or through operator-installed technology that enables “unattended access.” Although P2P carsharing is more commonplace in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, and other parts of Europe, the market continues to grow    steadily in North America. For instance, the P2P carsharing operator, Turo, expanded into Canada in April 2017, becoming the first American P2P operator to enter an international market.