FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The Answers You Need
SO HOW IS THIS ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY?
Driving is never going to be better for the environment or your health than walking or cycling. But there are times when it's more convenient such as journeying to a rural area or if you're carrying heavy items. We want to help those situations be as sustainable as possible.
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Most Londoners who own a car only use it around 9 hours per week, according to research by car-sharing marketplace Turo. The rest of the time it is sitting unused. Renting a car instead of owning means as the vehicles are shared, one rental vehicle can replace several private cars, improving utilisation and freeing up road space.
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This isn't just theory - the change is already happening. According to research by Centre for London there are around 500,000 members of car clubs in London. 41 per cent of these said they would have bought a car had they not joined a car club, and around one in six members have sold a private vehicle after joining one
HOW ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ARE PHEVS (PLUG-IN HYBRIDS) REALLY?
This is up to you really. PHEVs are designed with low electric-only range for town driving with a petrol engine for longer journeys. We provide charging cables and you can use Zap-Map to find charging points. If you are travelling long distance you can also set the car to charge the battery while you're driving on the motorway so that there is charge to switch to electric-only when you get into town again
IS IT EXPENSIVE?
If you use a car every day then this isn't for you. But most people don't need a car every day, with research showing most car owners in the UK only use their car for 9 hours per week. If this is you then renting should be cheaper.
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Average prices on a VW Golf
Hire purchase: £350 per month + insurance + road tax + parking + servicing + initial deposit
6 days rental per month: £300 per month including insurance. No road tax, parking or servicing costs
WHAT ARE THE PICK-UP AND DROP-OFF TIMES FOR YOUR VEHICLES?
Whatever time is convenient for you! The cars are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Driver identification, payment etc is all handled by the Getaround app so there is no need to go and sit in an office waiting for paperwork to be completed
HOW LONG IN ADVANCE DO I NEED TO BOOK A VEHICLE?
If you already have a verified profile with Getaround, you can book a car and pick it up within 5 minutes if it's available.
If you don't have a profile, allow at least a day for your profile to be verified
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If you are particularly interested in electric-only driving and want the car to be charged ahead of the rental then give us as much notice as possible and we will see what we can do
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO DRIVE?
You need to meet certain conditions in order to rent a car via the Getaround platform. The essential criteria are:
Have an address in the United Kingdom
Less than 6 points on your licence no major driving convictions in the last 5 years, strictly less than 2 minor convictions, and no driving bans or disqualifications
At least 25 years old and have held a licence for at least two years for the VW Golfs, for at least three years for the BMW 3-Series
Under 70 years old
Check Getaround's website to get the full criteria