Americans Try Renting Their Car to Strangers

Free market solution is designed to help neighborhoods make do with fewer cars

June 20, 2011

Eric Loebel, of Portland, Oregon, plans to rent his Volvo S80 out to strangers with the help of a car sharing service.

Americans love their cars. There are more cars, per capita, in the United States than in any other country - more than eight cars for every 10 Americans, according to recent government figures.

But most of the time, those vehicles sit idle, parked in a driveway or on the street. Now, several startup companies on the U.S. West Coast are helping people rent their personal car to someone else when they don’t need it.

Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing

Eric Loebel is one of those people. For a small price, he wants to let his Oregon neighbors “borrow” his car. It’s a dark blue, model year 2000 Volvo sedan.

The sales and marketing consultant says he doesn’t use it much.

“My wife and I are huge bike commuters and almost don’t need a car, but haven’t quite been able to eliminate that element," he says. "So we have a car that basically sits in front of the house maybe 85 to 90 percent of the time.”

Loebel is one of the first car owners in Portland to list his wheels for rent through a so-called “peer-to-peer car sharing” service called Getaround.com.

The website for car sharing service, Getaround.com, lists the personal vehicles available for hourly rental.