Peer-to-peer car rental app Turo expands to Canada

Starting today, Canadian car owners can use Turo, a new-to-Canada peer-to-peer marketplace available online and via the company’s mobile app, to rent their unused cars to other drivers.

Compared to traditional car rental companies, the San Francisco-based company says Canadians can expect to save about 30 percent per car rental when they use its platform to book a ride. On the flip side, the average car owner should be able to make about $600 per month should they decide to take advantage of the platform, according to the company.

At launch, Turo is only available to car owners and drivers in Alberta, Quebec and Ontario. Moreover, only those with auto insurance from Intact Insurance or its subsidiary, Belair Direct, will be able to use the platform to rent their vehicle, which is one of the main reasons Turo is currently only available in part of Canada. It’s also important to note even those with Intact or Belair will need to contact their insurance broker or agent to confirm whether they’re eligible to use the platform.

There are several other stipulations, as well. Cars rented on the platform must be less 10 years old. Moreover, they can’t have more than 20,000 kms on their odometer, and they need to be worth less than $75,000.

To rent a vehicle, drivers need to posses a valid credit card and piece of identification. There are no memberships associated with using Turo, but there’s a 25 percent fee transaction fee for car owners and a 10 percent transaction for drivers. In San Francisco, Turo’s most mature market, I found a 2015 Toyota Prius that costs $56 per day to rent. Most cars cost about that much to rent, though there are exceptions — like a 2015 Tesla Model S that costs $197 per day to rent.

The company provides $2 million in liability insurance to every owner signed on to the platform, as well as 24-hour roadside assistance for drivers.

In an interview with our sister site BetaKit, Turo CEO Andre Haddad talked about the company’s expansion into Canada. “We’ve been working on our expansion in Canada for a bit over a year. It’s been a thoughtful and methodical process,” he said. “That Canadian community on Turo that travels to the U.S. and uses us is the most significant one that we have across any country. So we were delighted with the adoption of Turo by Canadian travellers visiting the U.S. Frankly, they have been incredible evangelists of the company and they’ve been lobbying us to launch in Canada for many years now. We felt it was right to respond to the community that’s most passionate about Turo.”

Moving forward, the company says it’s working on bringing on additional insurance companies so that Canadians across the country can take advantage of its platform.

Download the Turo mobile app from the iTunes App Store or Google Play Store.