Gig Car Share Review – Convenient & Affordable Car Rentals!

Check out our Best Rideshare Rentals post for a full list of rental options.

Looking for a no-hassle, convenient and affordable car to drive for delivery? You’ll find it with GIG Car Share by AAA. We tried GIG Car Share out for ourselves. Our Gig Car Share review shows you how to get on the road quickly.

GIG Car Share is already popular with young people who need an inexpensive rental car for running errands and making quick trips. That’s because, unlike with other car rental agencies, you don’t have to be 25 years old or face penalties. 18 year olds and up can easily get a Gig car.

Gig Car Share Review

Currently GIG Car Share is only available in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento and Seattle. Judging from our personal experience with Gig, we expect it to be successful and expand to other cities!

Get started with GIG Car Share today and use promo code GIGRSG to save $30 on your rental. *Offer valid until 9/30/2020 11:59 PM PST for new Members only.

This post is a paid partnership with GIG Car Share. We only partner with companies we believe are actually helpful to our readers. You can see our affiliate policy here.

Today there are so many ways to get around, from mass transit to electric bicycles and scooters to the ubiquitous Uber and Lyft. But what if you have too much to carry, or have to get a coffee table home, or you need to pick a child up from school?

Or — and we’ll bet more than one of our readers has faced this challenge — what if you have a particularly juicy Instacart or Postmates order but no wheels to take advantage of it?

Meet Gig.

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*GIG Car Share is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Postmates or Instacart.

Save Money on Commuting, Errand-Running or Traveling with Short Term Car Rental

During our Gig Car Share review we compared this service to other rental services we’ve covered (you can find them on our Uber vehicle marketplace), Gig’s convenience factor and ease of use is phenomenal.

We found it very easy to install the app, get approved by the system, find the car, drive it, park it and finish the rental.

Think of all the times you’ve gone on vacation and only needed the car to get to and from the airport, or the time you just need to pick up a bulky item.

And if you just need to go a couple of miles to the train station, the trip can cost less than $3 (which is the full-price adult fare on San Francisco’s transit system).

Gig Enables You to Drive for Postmates Without a Car in San Francisco

Since there’s no arrangement between Gig and Uber or Lyft, you’d have to do a vehicle inspection each time you rented with Gig. For this reason, we wouldn’t recommend rideshare driving with a Gig car. For that, check out our hourly and long-term rental options at our vehicle marketplace.

However, since food delivery services like Postmates and DoorDash don’t have any vehicle requirements, you can use Gig to do delivery work.

The Prius-C looks small, but it can easily carry a few Instacart orders.

Postmates couriers can earn up to $20, and Instacart shoppers (especially in the cities where Gig is available) can earn $25 an hour, making Gig’s rental price compared to earnings worth it.

Also, you don’t pay until the car is unlocked, so you can accept delivery orders before even stepping foot in the car, and you can return the car whenever you’re done working for Postmates or Instacart.

What is GIG Car Share?: Our Gig Car Share Review

Gig Car Share is a car-rental service provided by the American Automobile Association (AAA). Unlike traditional car rental, where you need to go to an office, reserve a car, fill out a bunch of paperwork and then panic about returning the car, Gig is a simple, point-to-point service where you only pay for the time you’re actually driving the car — revolutionary, right?

Right now, GIG Car Share is available in Seattle, Sacramento, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

What Does GIG Car Share Cost?: Gig Car Share Rates

We found during our review of Gig Car Share that the pricing varies, but is usually 40 cents a minute up to 1 hour, with a $2.50 minimum. That means you can walk or ride a bike to a grocery store, and then rent a Gig car (yes, all Gig cars have easy-to-use bike racks) to get home for a total cost of just a few bucks.

As of August 1, the $2.50 minimum will be going away. In its place will be a $1 Access Fee when you “End Your Trip.” You can avoid this fee by subscribing to a Gig membership for $14.99 a month (see below).

 

gig car share

For longer trips, Gig Car Share charges a flat rate of just $15 an hour, a 38% discount from the per-minute rate. But wait, as they say, there’s more!

AAA Members get another 10% off. For some trips, it may be cheaper than taking your own car, as Gig has agreements with local municipalities to waive parking-meter fees.

In the Bay Area, there are also “Golden Gigs” that offer reduced rates at busy times of day for short trips. These prices vary, so check the app. We love that you do NOT pay for fuel, insurance or maintenance. If you incur tolls or other charges, they’ll show up on your bill.

You can also use our promo code, GIGRSG, to get $30in credits for your first GIG Car Share rental.

*Offer valid until 9/30/2020 11:59 PM PST for new Members only.

GIG Car Share Requirements: Car Rental in San Francisco

If you’re under 25, you’ve probably been frustrated to learn you have to pay extra (Enterprise, for instance, charges a “young driver fee” of around $20 a day), and if you’re under 21, you can’t rent at all!

Contrast that with the minimal rental requirements that we found while reviewing GIG Car Share:

  • Drivers must have a valid U.S. driver’s license,
  • have a good driving record,
  • be at least 18 years old

You’ll also need a valid debit or credit card, and commercial usage is no problem.

For an 18-year-old looking for a quick way to get into the job market by doing delivery work, this could be a huge deal.

With Gig, you upload a selfie so they can be sure it’s really you behind the wheel. This means you can’t have your account hacked and be charged for a long trip (“honey, did you drive a rental car to Kentucky last week?”).

GIG Car Share Sacramento

Getting started with Gig Car Share in Sacramento is easy! The requirements are the same as San Francisco’s:

  • Drivers must have a valid U.S. driver’s license,
  • have a good driving record,
  • be at least 18 years old

You’ll also need a valid debit or credit card, and commercial usage is no problem.

GIG Car Share Seattle

Looking to drive for delivery but don’t want your own car? In Seattle, your options are easy: Gig car share! Here are Seattle Gig car share requirements:

  • Drivers must have a valid U.S. driver’s license,
  • have a good driving record,
  • be at least 18 years old

You’ll also need a valid debit or credit card, and commercial usage is no problem.

How Does Gig Work?: Signing Up for Short Term Car Rental with GIG Car Share

Registering with the app is easy–just follow the prompts.

Like everything else these days, you’ll need a smartphone. Download the Gig app, follow a few simple steps to create an account and GIG car share will review your driver’s license. You’ll soon be notified when you’re ready to rent!

From there, you’ll enter payment information (be sure to type our code “GIGRSG” into the “promotions” box to get your $30 credit)  and then open the app to find the nearest car.

*Offer valid until 9/30/2020 11:59 PM PST.  for new Members only.

Seattle’s fleet is all brand-new Priuses.

Look how easy it is!

What we found during our review of Gig Car Share is that depending on where you are, you’ll likely find a car within a few minute’s walk. There are a few options, depending on location.

The standard Hybrid Gig is usually a Toyota Prius C, which is zippy, fun to drive, surprisingly spacious and easy to drive and park. There are also newer, more roomy late-model Priuses (Toyota stopped production of the Prius-C) called “Gig 2.0,” and for the Sacramento market, there are all-electric Bolt EVs.

We found the bike racks are easy to use and secure (there’s a key in the glove box).

Reserve the car you want–up to 30 minutes, no charge–and head over to it. Once there, you open your app, note any new damage to the car, tap ‘unlock vehicle and start trip,” and the doors unlock. Hop in, adjust the seat and mirrors, tap the car’s “start” button, and drive away.

At your destination, simply park on a public street (unless it’s a private property with an agreement with Gig) and select “end trip.” Make sure the car won’t get ticketed–look out for sneaky street-cleaning signs but don’t worry about residential parking or parking meters–hop out, lock the car and you’re done.

The system sends you a receipt. If you don’t want to end your trip, you can select “stopover” instead of “end trip,” which is great for errand-running.

Pro tip: request a “Gig Card” through the app, and you’ll get a card in the mail that can unlock and start the car if you’re out of cell service or your battery dies.

GIG Car Share Promo Code

Don’t forget to sign up with a Gig Car Share promo code! Use Gig car share promo code GIGRSG to get $30 in credits.

GIG Car Share Expansion

As of right now, GIG Car share is only available in the Bay Area, Sacramento and Seattle. However, given the popularity and need for flexible car rental options, we expect Gig car share to continue to expand nationwide.

If you’re interested in Gig Car Share coming to your city, make sure to let them know!

Should You Try GIG Car Share?

As you can see from our Gig Car Share review, we think Gig can be a great low-cost way for people who can’t afford a car to make money right away with delivery or rideshare in the Bay Area, Sacramento, and Seattle.

It’s also an easy way to see if you like delivery driving, or if using a car would make financial sense. With the $30 promotion, trying it is free for the first hour, and if you sign up to drive for delivery with Postmates or Instacart, you can try to earn money right away.

Have you tried GIG Car Share or would you try GIG for delivery driving?

-RSG Staff

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