RelayRides - Person-to-Person Carsharing

It depends on two things: 1) What type of car you own, and 2) How many hours per week you lend out your vehicle. Please see the How Much Can I Earn page for estimates.

Several safeguards are in place to provide you with maximum protection and make sure that the process is easy and secure for the car owner.

First, RelayRides provides a $1,000,000 insurance policy to protect you and your vehicle. In the event that anything happens, our insurance takes care of it at no cost to you.

Second, we go to great lengths to vet all of the members. Before anybody can borrow a vehicle, they have to become a member at which point we check their driving history. If they have a history of violations or tickets, they will not be approved.

Finally, our system is designed in such a way that all borrowers are constantly being rated by other borrowers and owners. If a borrower returns a car dirty or late, they will be assessed a penalty and if this behavior continues, his or her membership will be terminated.

When you enroll a vehicle, you set the times when it’s available and how much you want to charge per hour. RelayRides members can make a reservation online or over the phone, we process all of the payments, and send you a check at the end of the month for your entire revenue (minus the 15% commission and additional fees).

RelayRides provides a supplemental insurance policy from an independent, national carrier that will cover the driver during the reservation.

The car owner retains his or her existing policy that will continue to cover him/her during the times when he/she drives the car.

Thus, whenever a reservation takes place, RelayRides’ insurance kicks in and provides a $1,000,000 liability protection. If anything goes wrong, RelayRides insurance covers the damages.

If there is an accident, we will file an insurance claim for you under the program provided by RelayRides. Our insurance carrier is an independent, national brand that will provide a rental while your car is in the shop, or pay you the value of your vehicle if the car cannot be repaired.

All members agree to remain liable for the first $500 of damages, as a deductible. This insures that they have a vested interest in driving the vehicle as if their own.

Minor physical damage will fall under the $500 deductible that the borrowers will be responsible for. Once the damage is known to us, RelayRides will pay the car owner and then recover the funds from the borrower.

All damage is tracked using the Vehicle Damage Report forms and the Car Computer.

If a borrower damages the interior of the vehicle, they will be held liable for the damage up to $500. Anything above that would be covered by our insurance policy. As soon as you notice new damage on the vehicle, please contact us right away, so we can track down the borrower that caused it. We will reimburse you for the damage and collect the penalty from the borrower.

After you join, a RelayRides team member will contact you and explain the simple process to install the device that will allow borrowers to access your car during the reservation. This device allows members to access the car without exchanging keys and protects your vehicle against unauthorized use.

They will arrange a convenient time for you to take your car to a local garage to install the device, which will not harm your vehicle in any way. After trying our service, if you are not satisfied, the device can be easily removed without any damage to your car.

The device incorporates cutting edge technology to allow borrowers to access your vehicle while keeping it completely secure. The device does the following:

• Unlock doors – the device ties into the vehicle’s locking system and unlocks the doors for a borrower with a valid reservation and the car owner.
• Immobilize engine – as a security feature, the device makes it impossible to start the car without a reservation.
• Find the vehicle – in the event of an emergency RelayRides can use the GPS system to locate the vehicle.
• Track mileage – the device tracks how far the vehicle is driven during a reservation so that the borrower can be charged if included mileage (20 miles per hour) is exceeded.

Any vehicle may be enrolled! The only restriction is that the car must be well-maintained, safe to drive, and have power door locks.

We encourage all car owners to enroll! Oftentimes, you'd be surprised just how useful your car may be to your neighbors - even if it's not brand new or in perfect condition. Ultimately, this is reflected in the price that the borrower pays, so many would prefer to borrow an older vehicle, if they can pay slightly less for it. Go ahead and enroll and we'll let you know whether the vehicle is eligible for participation.

It depends. In most cases, leased cars are eligible. There are some instances where a leasing agreement can prohibit subleases, in which case the car would not be able to enroll. We recommend that you review your leasing agreement for any language that prohibits such use, before you enroll your vehicle.

With our secure technology, there is no need to meet to exchange keys. When a borrower has successfully reserved your vehicle online or over the phone, the device will wirelessly receive the reservation information and only open the vehicle for the authorized borrower. The borrower will then be able to waive his keycard over the RelayRides device in your vehicle, which will unlock the doors. The ignition to your car is immobilized unless it is accessed by the car owner or an authorized borrower. The ignition key hangs near the steering wheel, but it will not start the car unless the device has been activated.

If no one has reserved your vehicle for that time, you can easily update your car’s availability for that time period through our website or mobile application. However, if a borrower has already reserved your car we ask you to respect the reservation.

All borrowers are asked to return the vehicle to the same location where they picked it up.

Gas is factored into the price that you set per hour for your vehicle. Effectively, as a car owner, you bear the cost of gas but get compensated for it through the rental payments. To simplify matters, we provide a gas card that allows borrowers to fill up your vehicle when the gas tank falls below 1/4 full. The gas costs are simply subtracted from your monthly earnings. For example, if in January, you earn $300 and the borrowers used the gas card to fill up for a total of $30, your monthly earnings will be $270. Please note that the borrowers do have a limit of 20 miles per hour or 160 miles per day included in their reservation. Any miles above that limit are billed at a rate of $0.40-0.50 per mile (depending on the type of vehicle) and a portion of that is remitted to you.

You are responsible for maintaining your vehicle according to the recommendations of the vehicle’s manufacturer and state regulations. Also, you are responsible for periodically cleaning the vehicle as necessary.

Our In-Vehicle Computer has a GPS that tracks your car during the reservation, and will alert you about any lateness. If the car is more than 5 minutes late, we will assess a penalty on the borrower’s credit card which will be paid to you. Borrowers who are chronically late will be banned from the RelayRides network. We also actively encourage you to rate your borrowers (similar to eBay).

While a borrower is using your vehicle, you will not be able to access it. Even if it is returned early to the parking location, while the reservation is still going, only the authorized borrower can access the car. If there is an emergency, please call our office at 1-866-RELAY-01 and we’ll do our best to help you sort out the situation.

It’s important to keep your car tidy and clean at all times. It’s best to leave your car without any personal items in it. Since carsharing is based on community and respectful use, we encourage everyone to leave the car in the same condition that you’d want the next borrower to leave it in. If you prefer, you can keep some of the items locked in a small box in the trunk or glovebox, but keep in mind that RelayRides is not liable for any loss of personal items.

Car owners will be paid by RelayRides by the 10th of each month for the previous month. Checks will be issued by mail to the address on file.

Every individual car owner has the ability to set the rates they want to charge when other people borrow their vehicles. RelayRides takes out a 15% fee for providing the technology and infrastructure for this service, along with a pass-through insurance fee that provides a $1,000,000 liability coverage. As of July 2010, the pass-through insurance fee is 20% of the revenue. Any gas purchased with the RelayRides gas card is also subtracted from that month’s total earnings.

Whenever you earn over $600 in a single calendar year, the income will be reported to the IRS and we will send you a 1099 form at the close of the year. This will be treated as regular income and you will be responsible for any taxes that you incur. Consult with your accountant to discuss possible deductions.

There is currently no payout minimum. Whatever amount you make in any given month will be sent to you by the 10th of the following month.

Payments are issued by check.

The borrower is entirely responsible for any traffic or parking tickets he/she receives while using your car. The RelayRides system keeps track of exactly who is driving the vehicle and when, so if there is ever any question we will be able to tell exactly who was driving the car during the time of the violation. If you receive a ticket in the mail, send it in to RelayRides, and we will pay the ticket and collect the fine from the responsible borrower. You will not be held liable in any way for a violation in your vehicle, and it will not impact your insurance premiums in any way.

If you wish to leave the RelayRides community, we make this process simple and easy.

Simply get in touch with our office and we will schedule an un-install that will remove the In-Vehicle Device from your car. Afterwards, we will send you any remaining payments on your balance and your account will be canceled.

If your car is stolen, please contact 911 and then call RelayRides immediately at 1-866-RELAY-01. Through the In-Vehicle Computer, we will try to locate the vehicle via GPS coordinates, as well as pull up the history of previous borrowers. Keep in mind that our computer does immobilize the ignition of the vehicle for any unauthorized and/or unscheduled use.

No, your insurance is not affected. When you drive your car, you are covered under your existing policy. However, when a borrower uses your vehicle, we provide the insurance policy to protect them and your car. If they get into an accident, our insurance policy will go into effect.

You can download the Owner Guide here. It is a comprehensive document that addresses all aspects of enrolling your car into RelayRides.