The rubber has hit the road with a major American rideshare company’s plans to begin serving New Brunswickers.
Turo, which bills itself as “the world’s largest car sharing marketplace,” allows users to book other people’s vehicles in the same way they would rent someone else’s home through Airbnb.
The company already operates in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. It will launch in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador on May 17.
“The intention is to offer a platform that enables local car owners to step into the void left by traditional companies. We’re excited with the response of the population and the opportunity this launch represents for local owners, and in making travel in the region possible for so many drivers,” said Turo’s VP of Canadian operations, Cedric Mathieu.
Turo’s launch in the popular vacation hotspot of Atlantic Canada will ease some of the pressures in the province caused by a lack of vehicle rentals. Mathieu said the car-rental crunch over the last couple of years has become more severe and that the timing was good to expand to the other Atlantic Provinces.
“There’s a car shortage in many provinces across Canada, and that’s especially true in the Atlantic provinces, where supply is short and the prices of these cars, when available, are very high,” he said.
“This is a great opportunity for local owners to make their cars available and derive some meaningful income from renting them out.”
Turo launched in Nova Scotia in June 2019. Mathieu said Nova Scotia is the province where the service is seeing the most demand – with growth rates over 4,000 percent, year-over-year.
“The timing is good for car owners to step in and fill the void, so it was both a continuation of our early efforts to expand and being mindful of the current situation from the car industry rental standpoint that we planned our expansion,” said Mathieu.
“The pandemic has impacted the tourism industry, and the activity with Turo, but we’ve seen great traction in Nova Scotia despite the pandemic.”
Turo’s expansion announcement comes in advance of New Brunswick’s 2022 tourism season that many expect will be busy.
“There’s pent-up demand for travel both from domestic and international travelers coming to the Atlantic Provinces and Maritimes to really explore after two years of not being able to do that. We expect New Brunswick will be a big travel destination this summer,” said Mathieu.
While people can’t book vehicles in New Brunswick until mid-month, owners looking to lend their vehicles are able to list them on Turo’s platform. Starting May 17, guests can book and use the vehicles listed on the platform.
So far, Turo has seen healthy uptake in Nova Scotia’s Atlantic neighbours. At the time of writing, Mathieu said 350 people across New Brunswick, P.E.I., and Newfoundland and Labrador had already listed their vehicles for bookings on the app.
Mathieu said that in 2021 Turo hosts who shared their cars made about $1,200 on average per month from the platform.
Mathieu noted that the rides are ensured by Turo’s partners Economical Insurance and Insurance Corporation British Columbia, minimizing the risk hosts face lending their cars. Accidents mean no impact on hosts’ personal insurance rates, with Turo’s insurers offering up to $2-million in liability coverage.
“It’s important, because it creates trust in the platform and system,” said Mathieu.
Turo operates in more than 7,500 cities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It launched in Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec in 2016, and in B.C. in 2020.
Sam Macdonald is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
