Want to drive for Uber or Lyft, but don’t have a vehicle? Maybe yours is in the shop, doesn’t qualify to drive for Uber or Lyft, or you’re on the fence about using your personal vehicle for rideshare. Luckily, there are several options for drivers who want to drive for Uber and Lyft but not use their own car. Senior RSG contributor covers Rideshare Rental, a car rental service for Uber and Lyft drivers.
When you want to drive for rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft but don’t have a vehicle—or don’t want to add miles to your personal vehicle—there are options for you to rent.
One company, called Rideshare Rental, does just that. They provide vehicles for you to choose from so you can start earning on these rideshare platforms quickly and easily.
What is Rideshare Rental?: How Rideshare Rental Works
Rideshare Rental is essentially a platform where people can list their cars to rent out to rideshare drivers, and a place where rideshare drivers can go to find a vehicle to rent to use while doing gig work across the major platforms Uber and Lyft.
Drivers will have the option of renting the vehicle on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. According to their website, Rideshare Rental includes insurance in the fees for renting the vehicle.
The step-by-step process for drivers is:
- Download the app and set up your account — as part of this process, they will run a background check before approving you as an authorized driver on their platform.
- Select a car — enter your location and start browsing for vehicles.
- Request booking — when you find a car that you like, click “Book Now” to put in your request. The owner of the vehicle has up to 24 hours to approve or deny your booking.
- Pick up the car — organize with the owner when and where to pick up your vehicle. At the pick up, you’ll also be required to fill out a vehicle inspection form.
- Start earning — after you upload the necessary documents into your Uber and/or Lyft account, and they approve the documents, you’ll be ready to start earning on those platforms. The vehicle can also be used for delivery services.
- Extend your rental — if you need your vehicle for longer than you thought, you can extend your rental within the app or on the Rideshare Rental website.
Who is Rideshare Rental For?
Rideshare rental is currently available in Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Seattle, Chicago, North Haven, New Jersey, Connecticut, Miami and more.
It is made for anyone who either doesn’t have their own vehicle to use for rideshare driving or who doesn’t want to put the miles on their own car while earning money. The cost to rent a vehicle through Rideshare Rental starts at $29/day.
It’s also made for people who have a spare vehicle they don’t use often who want to make some extra passive income by renting out their vehicle.
Pros and Cons of Rideshare Rental
Customers enjoy that Rideshare Rental vehicles come with maintenance and insurance included in the cost of renting the vehicle. Also, all rentals include unlimited mileage, which is a great perk for rideshare drivers.
Several customers in reviews boasted of great customer service when working with Rideshare Rental.
As for cons, Rideshare Rental seems to be going through some growing pains according to some of its customers, including staffing changes making customer service less reliable than it was previously.
Also, it is unclear on their website if you can rent cars directly from them or if the vehicles are all owned by an individual who has signed up on their site. In one review, I saw the customer was upgraded to a newer vehicle, but I don’t know how this would be possible with getting vehicles directly from a vehicle owner versus from a fleet that Rideshare Rental owns themselves.
Finally, the website and app are a bit clunky. If you’re not in an area that Rideshare Rental works with, you’ll automatically see vehicles available in Los Angeles and be unable to update your location in the app. On the website, some of the phrasing used is confusing and unprofessional, making it seem like a less reputable option to choose from.
Overall, the marketing copy on the website leaves a lot to be desired. This sentence about renting, in particular, is clunky and odd: “The process is that simple. But, make sure to read the terms and conditions of Rideshare Renting. And also, do a quick study of the Privacy Policy of the company to make sure you don’t get yourself to some serious situations.”
We all know we’re supposed to read privacy policies, and maybe this is Rideshare Rental’s way of really making us read it (what ‘serious situations’?) but it would be helpful if they either spelled out some things we should know upfront instead of leaving it to the renter.
Comparisons of Rideshare Rental to Other Rental Companies
There are other options out there similar to Rideshare Rental to consider, many of which you can find on our car rental options page. Here’s how they compare.
Lyft Express Drive vs Rideshare Rental
One option is going directly through Lyft with their Express Drive rental option. Lyft partners with Hertz and a subscription rental startup known as Flexdrive to provide drivers with vehicles. With Lyft Express Drive, it’s ideal if you do actively drive with Lyft to begin with.
Lyft miles are included in your rental price and are unlimited while a limited number of “personal” miles are included, which would include all driving off of Lyft’s platform—whether that consists of you running errands or driving on other platforms like Uber.
For an average X level car, you can expect to pay around $200 a week with Lyft Express Drive, and the rates go up from there based on the model you choose and how many personal miles you put into your plan.
Read our full review of Lyft Express Drive to see if it’s the right option for you.
Hyrecar vs Rideshare Rental
Hyrecar is more similar to Rideshare Rental than Lyft Express Drive. With Hyrecar, you’ll be paired with a vehicle that has an owner and is rideshare-ready. The owner sets the price they want to charge daily, weekly or monthly for you to rent their personal vehicle, but they will likely have similar prices to similar vehicles in the area.
The sign up and start up process is essentially the same as Rideshare Rental. One advantage Hyrecar has over Rideshare Rental is that it seems to be available in more cities across the U.S., giving more drivers the option to use their platform.
Like Rideshare Rental, with Hyrecar you can use the vehicle on multiple platforms without any issue, giving you the chance to maximize your earning potential.
You can read more about Hyrecar and our favorite Uber Car Rental options here.
Should You Try Rideshare Rental?
If Rideshare Rental is in your area, my advice would be to shop around. See if the prices and options on Rideshare Rental are worth your money compared to other options that are likely also available to you.
Rideshare Rental is a good option if you want to try out rideshare driving, but don’t have a car and don’t know if you want to make the commitment of buying a car just for rideshare. You will have to be 21 years old to rent through Rideshare Rental, but this is pretty standard across the industry. Compare prices and see if Rideshare Rental is a good option for you!
Get started with Rideshare Rental here.
Readers, have you ever rented a car to drive for Uber or Lyft? What was your experience like?
-Paula @ RSG
