As people move out of congested cities and into the regions, one of the lifestyle choices they may want to bring with them is car sharing.
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Some car sharing platforms around the world are merely the booking system that allows private vehicle owners to share the use of their car with anyone else using the same platform.
In Australia though, car sharing services tend to be hire car businesses which allow minimum hire times of as little as an hour.
There are multiple such competitors like this in Australian cities, demonstrating that it is a business model for which there is a definite demand.
Being able to hire a vehicle only when you actually need it, and only for as long as you need it, certainly has its potential benefits when public transport, a taxi, or delivery services aren't a suitable or cheaper option.
For those who don't drive often or far enough to justify the cost of buying their own vehicle they get to avoid all of those expenses (and the depreciation). Similarly, it suits families who only need a second vehicle occasionally, again avoiding the cost of ownership on that additional vehicle.
It also proves handy when you need a different type of vehicle for a short time, such as a light commercial ute or van for moving large or lots of objects all at once.
However some people even use short-term hire while they are in town with their regular vehicle temporarily out of action, such as getting it serviced or repaired.
It can also suit visitors who arrive by some other means (like a train, plane or bus) who only want to hire a vehicle for a specific purpose which will only take part of the day.
So it sounds like something that people in regional centres would want as well, and that is proving to be the case. "Short term car hire and sharing options shouldn't be limited to capital cities," said Kinto GM Mark Ramsay.
The concept is catching on. Comparing January 2022 with July 2022, Mr Ramsay said the number of regional Kinto sites has increased 76 per cent, however their level of trade in the regions has grown 390 per cent in the same period.
Also, Mr Ramsay said that in their regional sites, around 60 per cent of the bookings are for shorter periods, and about 40 per cent are more akin to the traditional hire car bookings measured in days or more.
Kinto is a division of Toyota Finance Australia Limited so it's pretty obvious which brand of vehicles they offer, and many of their sites are also based out of the local Toyota dealership, but they have other partners too.
In fact, "Toyota's vast dealership network has allowed us to expand into regional areas".
Kinto's goal is for everything to be as easy as possible, so it's all done via your smartphone app which can be found in Google's Play Store or Apple's App Store.
You start by installing the app on your compatible device (check the requirements before you do) then use it to register and get approved, which they endeavour to process quickly. You then book and pay securely via the app as well. For passenger vehicles it's also keyless with your compatible device. The vehicle is unlocked via Bluetooth connection, and started with a button in the vehicle.
You can rent for as little as an hour, or for as long as a year. And another interesting point is you only need to be 18 or over, with a licence to drive unsupervised obviously (ie. you're not still on L plates).
Mr Ramsay said Kinto's fleet is made up of the current generation of vehicles, and since they stick to one brand for supply, you book a specific model to suit your needs, not just a category of vehicle.
Almost all of the passenger vehicles you can book from them are hybrids (the commercials, not so much) but the other environmental benefit that I can see is a few less vehicles needing to be made. Each new vehicle costs between 8 and 15 tonnes of carbon just to produce, and then there's the need to recycle them after their useful life.
Hire services are also a type of fleet, and it is fleets who put the most vehicles on the used market to make vehicle ownership more affordable as well. In this case that will also include making cars with partially-electric drivetrains a bit more affordable.
