You may have read on this site or received an email from Uber about the XChange Leasing program ending, but did you know Uber is shuttering its Enterprise Rent-a-Car Rental program as well? Many drivers rely on these programs to get them into cars and out on the road, driving and earning money with Uber. If you’re one of the many drivers who relies on one of these leasing or rental options to drive for Uber, you’re probably wondering about what’s going to happen to your lease or looking for your next option for getting a car.
Today, we’re going to cover what’s happening to these programs, what could be next for other rental/leasing programs, and what options are out there for drivers who need a vehicle to drive for Uber.
Looking for a vehicle to drive with Uber and/or Lyft? Check out our comprehensive Vehicle Marketplace here.
What’s Happening to XChange and Enterprise?
Uber’s XChange Leasing program started in 2015 and was designed to get drivers into cars, on the road, and making money faster than traditional methods. The program leased cars to drivers who otherwise wouldn’t qualify for a loan on their own. However, Uber announced recently that it would be closing down this business after learning losses were $9,000 per car on average, much higher than the original estimates of around $500 per car in losses. I have no idea how losses were that high since these cars aren’t even worth more than $20-$30,000 to begin with so I’m not sure that I believe the $9,000 figure but it does seem clear that the program closed down for financial reasons.
Since it began, XChange Leasing has leased over 40,000 vehicles.
Want to drive for Uber or Lyft but don’t have a car that qualifies? Let Rideshare Rental get you out on the road fast with their rideshare-approved vehicles. Learn more about the rental program here.
XChange Leasing
As of 10/4/17, Uber will no longer be offering new Xchange leases. But if you have an existing Uber Xchange lease, Uber will continue to support you as normal going forward.
In an interesting twist though, it appears that XChange is incentivizing drivers to return their XChange vehicles before the lease is up, offering some drivers $450 in the screenshot below. So while you can keep the car if you want, it’s clear that Uber wants you to return the vehicles. This will be very interesting to keep an eye on to see if Xchange leaseholders receive the same support, weekly bonuses, etc as regular drivers.
Enterprise Rental Option
In 2015, Uber also partnered with Enterprise Rent-a-Car, where drivers had access to a discounted rental car for which they would pay weekly. And it looks like this partnership also is coming to an end.
Drivers have reported receiving alerts on their Uber apps about the Enterprise Rent-a-Car program ending (below), yet when you visit the Enterprise Rent-a-Car and drive with Uber program site for southern California, you’re still directed to a page where you can rent a car. I wasn’t able to find any available rentals though and when we checked with Uber, they confirmed that Enterprise is no longer offering rentals to Uber drivers.
Current Rental/Leasing Programs
Right now, the only rental program open to Uber drivers is Hertz (Hertz also has a partnership with Lyft). However, this program is only available in select cities, specifically:
- Atlanta, GA
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Denver, CO
- Los Angeles, CA
- Miami, FL
- New Orleans, LA
- San Francisco, CA
This means plenty of drivers are still out of car rental or leasing options.
Related article: Essential gear every rideshare driver should have
Other Vehicle Options for Drivers
Luckily, there are still several options out there for drivers who don’t have their own cars (or whose cars don’t fit the eligibility requirements to drive for Uber or Lyft).
Maven Gig
GM is offering drivers a product called Maven Gig. With Maven, drivers get access to new Chevrolet models including the Cruze, Malibu, Impala, Trax, and Bolt EV. You’ll pay a weekly rate depending on the car model you choose, and you’ll have access to:
- Unlimited miles
- Maintenance included
- Insurance (minus the deductible)
- OnStar roadside assistance
With the Maven program, you’re also eligible to drive for Uber and Lyft, delivery services like Postmates and DoorDash, and package delivery like Amazon Flex.
From drivers we’ve spoken to, this program is pretty popular and it can be tough to get a car, so you have to be patient and persistent if this program is available in your city. Right now, Maven Gig is available in the following cities with more to come:
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- Los Angeles
- Phoenix
- Boston
- Detroit
- Washington D.C.
aGO
aGO is a startup in Chicago that will allow you to rent a Nissan Leaf for the week to drive for Uber or Lyft. They have a tiered pricing plan based on how many hours you drive.
With aGO, you can drive for Uber, Lyft, Postmates, DoorDash and any other rideshare or delivery service in your city. All of the electric cars also come with:
- Insurance included
- No gas costs
- No charging costs
aGO is subscription-based and prices average around $5.50 an hour (minimum 10 hours). However, the more you drive, the lower cost per hour, and aGO has a Platinum membership that allows you to drive for $4.38 per hour. These prices include everything from the charging of the vehicle, parking, insurance, taxes, and data used by Uber/Lyft (on a tablet provided by aGO).
You can find more information on aGO here.
HyreCar
HyreCar is a vehicle rental market specifically designed for Uber, Lyft, and delivery drivers. You can filter by price, model, and location to find what fits your needs best and you can rent a vehicle for as little as 2 days.
Uber wasn’t accepting HyreCar’s insurance for a while there, but it appears that HyreCar is now an approved Uber partner. We’ve gotten mixed reviews from Hyrecar renters and owners in the comments section of our Hyrecar Review post so make sure you take a read through those before renting. I know many drivers who have successfully rented a car through them but if problems arise, it seems like HyreCar has been slow to respond and not super helpful getting issues resolved.
Lyft Express Drive
Lyft has their own version of a rental program and it costs between $185 – $235 a week… or $0 if you give a certain number of rides. You can rent a GM vehicle ranging from a Chevy Cruze to a GMC Terrain and the price varies based on the vehicle. If you do more than a certain number of rides (determined by your city), you don’t pay anything for the weekly car rental. So basically this program incentivizes you to do a lot of rides on Lyft, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
If you’re a new driver, you’ll need to apply to drive with Lyft here and then you can get a car through the Lyft Express Drive Program. If you’re an existing driver, you can contact Lyft in order to get signed up. You won’t be able to drive for Uber with this program, however.
You can read more about Lyft Express Drive here.
Craigslist/Private Fleet Owner
Another option for drivers is going through Craigslist or a private fleet owner to rent a car for rideshare driving. A private or local fleet owner could make a lot of sense if you don’t have the credit to get approved with another program or if the programs listed here aren’t in your city yet.
A private fleet owner is someone (individual or company) who owns at least one car that they rent out or lease to an Uber driver. Private fleet owners have always been common on UberBlack and UberSelect (and on UberX in New York) because there are high start-up costs to owning a vehicle on those platforms.
We do have a list of recommended fleet owners by region on our vehicle marketplace, but there are thousands of fleet owners out there and they advertise everywhere from Craigslist to Facebook or even in person flyers.
One caution on going through Craigslist or a private owner: if you’re getting into a long-term rental agreement, make sure to carefully review everything, particularly your agreement, and make sure you’re getting a flexible deal at a good price. Ask for references for other current or former drivers and see what their experience has been like.
You can read more about becoming part of a fleet or becoming a fleet owner here.
San Francisco: Uber + Get Around Pilot
Currently only available in San Francisco and Oakland, Uber + Getaround allows drivers to rent cars by the hour and use the cars for rideshare driving. It’s a new pilot, so right now Uber + Getaround is letting drivers have their first day (up to 14 hours) free. There’s no minimum or maximum amount of time to rent.
After the first 14 hours are up, drivers will be charged $5 per hour to use the Getaround car. Also, Getaround’s $1 or 3% booking fees are reimbursed for Uber drivers.
You can find out more and get $20 credit here: Uber + Getaround.
Takeaway for Drivers
Xchange was definitely the most popular leasing/rental option for rideshare drivers, so I’m surprised Uber wasn’t able to figure out a way to make it work. There’s clearly a ton of demand for flexible rideshare lease/rentals though, so I suspect that other companies will jump on the opportunity.
Related article: Essential gear every rideshare driver should have
Looking for a vehicle to drive for Uber and Lyft? Check out our Vehicle Marketplace here.
Are you using another program to drive for Uber or Lyft, or have you used Maven Gig, Lyft Hertz or Express Drive, or Hyrecar to rent or lease a car? Let us know your thoughts or questions below.
-Harry @ RSG
