RelayRides raises $10 million for P2P car sharing

Sharing mp3s is so 1999... this startup lets you share your car and make money doing it

RelayRides, a peer-to-peer marketplace for car sharing, announced Wednesday that it has increased its total Series A.2 funding to $10 million, with the help of Shasta Ventures and entrepreneur/environmentalist Lisa Gansky, perhaps best known for authoring The Mesh: Why the Future of Business Is Sharing.

Original backers in the Series A include Google Ventures and August Capital.

The service, like many a peer-to-peer service, is intended to benefit both sides in the deal. In this case, it’s the car borrowers and car sharers.

For those borrowing a car, rates start at just $5 per hour, or $55 for daylong reservations. There are no late fees--you just pay for the time you used the vehicle--and gas is included in the reservation (with every 20 miles being complimentary). RelayRides even offers a $1,000,000 insurance policy plus 24/7 roadside assistance.

The company says it costs, on average, $715 per month to be a car owner. Average per month spending for RelayRides users is only $100.

On the car sharing side, things are slightly more complicated. But that's why the car sharers get paid.

For one, sharers need to understand that, though they can set any rate they want, they lose 35 percent immediately: 15 percent goes to the pockets of RelayRides and 20 percent goes to the company’s $1 million insurance policy mentioned above. The sharer also loses out on gas money, though RelayRides says the average driver only travels 5.8 miles in an hour.

Another (necessary?) inconvenience is that RelayRides requires a device installed in the owner’s car. It’s all for security, though. The device allows the car owner to unlock doors, immobilize the engine, find the car (via GPS) and/or track mileage.

"Peer-to-peer carsharing is no longer some theoretical idea on the horizon--it's here and is being realized through the innovative service provided by RelayRides," said Rob Coneybeer, managing director at Shasta Ventures.

"RelayRides is a proven sharing-economy role model. And unlike other carshing companies, it's the most secure service out there because it allows owners to disengage their car remotely if their car should become compromised--a critical security feature for this kind of service."

The new funding will be used to fuel RelayRides’ expansion in both San Francisco and Boston proper.