RelayRides - Person-to-Person Carsharing

If you are 21 years of age or older, you must have:

1. You must have been driving at least 2 consecutive years

2. You must have a license from your permanent state of residence
    a. Foreign License - must obtain a copy of your driving record (English)

3. If you have not had your current license for at least 2 consecutive years
    a. Provide previous license number(s) to search your driving records

4. If you have any of the following listed on your driving record, we cannot extend membership to you at this time:
    a. Moving violations:
        Vehicular manslaughter
        Two or more speeding
        One speeding violation > 25 mph over
        Two or more red lights/stop signs
    b. Reckless Driving
    c. DUI

Zipcar members are welcome and encouraged to join! There are many benefits for you to become a member.

Our cars are typically priced $1-2 lower per hour (and $10+ lower per day), so you can get a vehicle for as low as $6 per hour. Gas and insurance are always included in the rate!

Becoming a member of RelayRides will also provide you with access to more vehicles near you. This additional availibility means that you'll have more options to choose from, especially during those peak-hour and weekend reservations. After all, we all know how difficult it is to get a car on a Saturday in the Boston area!

Remember, there is no cost to join and no annual fees. Moreover, we'll even give you a free $25 driving credit, so you can try the service on us! Try us and compare for yourself.

Once you register on the website, you will receive your member card in the mail within 2-3 business days. With the member card in hand, you will be able to make reservations and drive the cars. If you can’t wait to start using the service, we even offer an expedited same-day sign up process: sign up by noon, call our office to notify us that you need the card on short notice and you’ll be able to pick up the member card in our Cambridge-based office by the end of the day.

Yes! If you are 21 or over, you can sign up to become a member of RelayRides and use any of the cars in the system. Unlike traditional car rental companies, we do not charge any special surcharges or penalties for under-25 drivers.

If you are between the ages of 18 and 20, you can also sign up to become a member and use our service. However, we require that you have been driving for at least 2 years and that you also have your own insurance policy or are registered under your parents’ one, in order to be able to use the vehicles.

No – if you are a driver at least 21 years old, RelayRides provides a $1,000,000 liability insurance policy on all of the vehicles in our network. You are only liable for a $500 deductible. So when you borrow any of our cars, you are protected.

If you are between the ages of 18 to 20, you can still become a member and borrow cars in our network. However, you will need to carry a policy or be registered under your parents’ one.

RelayRides provides a supplemental insurance policy to cover the reservation period. However, there is a $500 deductible, so you will be responsible for paying the first $500 of any damages.

No, RelayRides does not own any of the vehicles in our network. As a community based service, all of the cars are owned and maintained by individual car owners who make their vehicles available in their neighborhood.

We have a wide range of vehicles available. Since all of our cars are member owned, you can expect to find anything from a typical Honda Accord to a Porsche Cayenne to a stretch limo available for rent. Borrow a sporty Mini Cooper one week and cruise around in a luxury Mercedes-Benz the next – they are all affordable and easy to reserve.

It depends on the area, but you will typically have 2 to 5 vehicles located within a short walk. Of course, you can always increase the numbers of cars near you by getting your neighbors with cars enrolled into the system – it doesn’t cost anything for them and you’ll get a $100 driving credit for the referral.

We offer several convenient ways to reserve a vehicle. The easiest and fastest way to do it is online through your control panel. You can see which cars are available, select the hours you will need it, and make the reservation within a few minutes. Alternatively, you can call our reservation line at 1-866-Relay-01 to reserve a car over the phone.

Yes! All cars have to be returned to the same location where they were picked up.

When you are selecting a vehicle for your reservation, it will list the location of the car next to each car’s profile. Once a reservation is made, you will receive an email with the exact directions on how to best get to the vehicle, along with any other pertinent details.

If the car is parked on the street, instead of in a reserved off-street parking space, you will receive the general intersection where the car is typically parked at the time of a reservation and a text message with the precise location (pulled through a GPS) 15 minutes before your reservation begins.

Each owner sets the price for his or her vehicle, but we provide the general guidelines below:

Pricing is per reserved hour and includes gasoline and insurance.

* 20 miles per hour and 160 miles per 24 hour period included in rates, excess mileage charges listed above

* Daily rate - capped at 8 hours usage; not including excess mileage charge.

With RelayRides, you can reserve an available car for as long as you need it! The reservation could be as short as an hour, or can last for multiple days (up to 2 weeks at a time). Consideration does have to be made for the general availability of the vehicle and any other reservations that were made prior to your reservation

Many of the car owners make their car available for a few hours at a time, while others make their car available for days or even weeks at a time if they’re traveling or know they won’t be using their car. When searching for a vehicle on RelayRides website, you can narrow down available cars by the length of time you will need one.

If the vehicle is not at its designated spot at the time of your reservation, RelayRides will help you locate the closest vehicle to you. Please call us at 1-866-RELAY-01 and we will assist you immediately.

Members of RelayRides are part of a trusted network. Every car has to pass a safety inspection and we review the vehicles for any visible damage. However, we are simply a marketplace and ultimate responsibility lies with the parties of transaction – the car owner and the borrower.

However, we encourage borrowers to rate vehicles, so if any vehicle receives multiple negative reviews, they will be investigated further. Also, car owners have an incentive to keep their cars well maintained, as these are the vehicles that will get the highest utilization rates, thus resulting in higher revenues for the owner.

You can reserve a vehicle up to 1 month in advance

Your account is activated and refilled using a credit card. We do require a credit card on file for all members, but if you prefer, you can also refill your account with a check or money order (min. $100).

Nope! That’s the best part – the hourly rate you see already includes gas and insurance, so it is all inclusive. Taxes are not included in the hourly rate but you will see the total price of your trip before the end of your reservation.

It depends. If you receive any tickets or violations while you are driving one of the cars, it will go on your record – as it would with any other car rental vehicle.

If you just exited the vehicle at the end of your reservation and realized that you left some personal items in the car, you can call our office at 1-866-RELAY-01 and we’ll temporarily unlock the vehicle, so you can retrieve your belongings.

If you realized that you forgot your personal items sometime after the reservation ended and the car is already being used by another member, please get in touch with us and we’ll help you find the best arrangement to get your things back.

Most of the vehicles do have an automatic transmission. However, we allow many different types of cars to enroll, so some have a manual transmission. This will be posted clearly on the car profile page.

It depends on the vehicle. We have a wide range of vehicles available with a variety of amenities – some of the cars even come with bike racks. Some of the larger cars can accommodate a bicycle (with the wheel taken off) right inside. Please refer to each individual vehicle for further details to determine if it’s suitable for your use.

We have a wide range of vehicles available with a variety of amenities and accessibility options. Please refer to each individual vehicle for further details to determine if it’s suitable for your use.

Yes, the cars can be driven to Canada.

Every driver is responsible for any parking or speeding tickets they receive during their time of use or as a result of it (i.e. leaving the car in a tow zone). If this is a parking ticket, please pay it within 3 business days of receiving it. Otherwise, if it ends up being billed to the owner, RelayRides will charge your credit card for the amount of the ticket plus an administrative fee.

As a borrower, you are responsible for all of the tolls. Even if there is an EZPass or a Fast Lane device in the vehicle, please select the cash lane and pay for the toll on the spot. If you do not pay the toll and receive a violation, it will be billed back to your credit card, along with an administrative fee.

Go ahead and fill-er-up! Gas is included with your reservation, and all borrowers are asked to fill up with gas when the car reaches 1/4 tank. A gas card found in the RelayRides console can be used at the pump to pay for gas. Most cars will use regular unleaded but the gas card will tell you if you must use premium gasoline.

Yes! 20 miles per hour and 160 miles per day are included in the rental. Additional mileage will incur a fee, depending on the type of the car.

RelayRides provides 24 hour road-side assistance for all vehicles. Call our toll-free line at 1-866-RELAY-01 and we’ll help you sort it out. If necessary, we will dispatch a tow truck and/or service crew to help you. We will do everything we can to get you on your way as quickly as possible.

Once your reservation is made and approved, your membership information will be sent to the car, so that when you wave your RelayPass in front of the reader installed on the car, it will unlock the vehicle. You’ll find the car keys in the glove box. Keep in mind that the ignition is immobilized and will not start unless you have a reservation scheduled for that time.

If nobody has reserved the car after you, you can extend your reservation quickly and easily. The simplest way to do it would be to simply extend it using the RelayRides Console (on top on the windshield). Alternatively, you can call us at 866-RELAY-01 and we'd be more than happy to do that for you. Make sure to extend your reservation at least 10 minutes before your current reservation ends to avoid being charged a late penalty.

Registration, insurance, and all other relevant documents are typically contained in the RelayRides information packet in the glove box.

Rates for RelayRides cars are set by their owners and depend on the model, year and condition of the vehicle. They start at $6/hour (gas and insurance included) and typically end up being $1-2 cheaper per hour than Zipcar, for comparable vehicles. Moreover, there are currently no enrollment or annual fees, so it’s absolutely free to join.

Many of our members have been and continue to be Zipcar members while also joining RelayRides to use as a 2nd membership. With a $0 cost to join (registration and annual fees are currently waived), signing up for RelayRides means that you will have more vehicles in your area to choose from, increased availability of cars so you can borrow on a shorter notice and closer to your home, and more affordable rates. Our goal is to provide you with more choices for your transportation needs.

When your reservation is over, it is likely that someone else – either the car owner or another borrower – will be waiting to use the car. For this reason it’s very important you return the car on-time. Borrowers who return a car more than 5 minutes late will be assessed a late fee, and to be fair to all owners and borrowers, those who are chronically late will be banned from the RelayRides system.

Unfortunately, you will still be billed for the remainder of your reservation, as other members will not be able to reserve the car during your existing reservation.

No! Many of our members are extremely sensitive to smoke, and a penalty will be charged to any borrower who has been smoking in a vehicle.

It depends. We understand that pets can be part of a family and occasionally you may need to take little Fluffy to the vet or on a trip. However, because some of our members are highly allergic to certain animals, pets can only be taken in certain cars. When searching for your vehicle online you will be able to narrow your search to only those cars that allow animals. In pet-approved cars, all pets must travel in pet carriers.

Only drivers approved by RelayRides are covered by the insurance provided during the reservation. So, if your friend is a RelayRides member, it is not a problem to let him or her drive. However, if your friend is not a member, they cannot drive the vehicle.

RelayRides is a community-based service. The more borrowers and car owners we have in the system, the more the community benefits.

We are currently running a referral program, where you can earn a $25 credit for every borrower and $100 credit for every car owner that you refer.

We are currently only operating in the Boston area, but plan to expand to other cities shortly. The best way to get RelayRides to come to your community or your town is to vote on our homepage and recruit other people from your community to do the same. Once a critical mass of car owners and borrowers is reached, we’ll look into expanding into that city.

You can download the Borrower Guide here. It is a comprehensive document that addresses all aspects of the RelayRides membership.