Renting An Electric Car: So Easy!

Contributed by David Morgan

Last year we were headed by train to LA. Amtrak and Metro buses made it easy to reach my cousin and nearby Disneyland. But how to explore the desert without using gas? I figured it’s California, of course they’ll have EVs at Hertz. Not quite yet. Hollywood Blvd, LAX, yes, but not most locations.

Google brought to my attention Turo, a website that makes it easy to rent everything from beaters to limos. I set the filter to EV, used the handy map tool, and voila! dozens of shiny Electric Vehicles available for rent owned by strangers who just happen to live near my cousin’s place. Sounds random, even sketchy, but we’ve done it 3 times and I’m sold!

So Many Choices

Turo is a company that arranges rentals of EVs

First time (LA to Joshua Tree): a Bolt, just like the car we own, so easy. Second time (Quebec City to Gaspe): ooh, closest EV to friends’ place is Tesla 3, imagine that. Third time (LA to Death Valley): Bolt isn’t available; shoot! we’ll just have to go with Tesla S a few blocks away.

Each transaction had a different owner but Turo standardizes insurance, listings, payment, communication. Owner sets price, miles allowed, carseat optional, etc. So simple and intuitive. In all 3 examples we didn’t even see the owners when we returned the cars days later, but we were able to use the app to complete the transaction on the fly as needed.

Autopilot to the Hottest Place on Earth

For us Turo started as a way to boycott petroleum. It grew into a way to do that plus drive someone else’s Tesla without getting arrested or ruining the kids’ college options. For you maybe it’ll be a way to test drive your next car, an EV….