Carshare service Turo expands at Vancouver and Calgary airports

Turo carshare app. (EnesPhography/Shutterstock)

Starting this week, Turo has designated vehicle exchange locations at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Calgary International Airport (YYC) to improve the accessibility and convenience of using its peer-to-peer carshare service.

At both airports, Turo guests can access their car upon arrival, based on the newly added option of providing Turo hosts with the ability to park their vehicles in YVR’s parkade, and YYC’s overheight public parking lot, economy parking lot, and parkades P1 and P2.

According to Turo, the partnerships are the first of their kind at both airports, enabling guests to check into their carshare reservation remotely, within minutes of leaving the terminal building.

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“Our partnerships with large, international airports across Canada illustrate car sharing’s continued momentum and further enhance the Turo experience for guests and hosts alike. Travellers arriving in Vancouver and Calgary will have a delightful experience, where they can skip the rental car counter altogether, jump into their booked vehicle and get on the road as soon as possible,” said Cedric Mathieu, senior vice president and head of Turo Canada, in a statement.

“This is also a great opportunity for local hosts, who can turn their vehicles into additional income while providing a five-star experience for all their guests flying in.”

Instead of owning their carshare fleet, Turo depends on car owners — called “hosts” — to lend their under-utilized vehicles to the company. In exchange, car owners putting up their vehicles to become hosts can earn some side income.

As Turo’s fleet depends on private vehicles owned by individuals, the service is able to offer a wide range of unique vehicles — everything from economical options to luxury cars. Guests can choose the exact vehicle make and mode, and add on extras like bike racks or child car seats.

The San Francisco-based company, often referred to as the Airbnb of carshare services, has seen considerable growth in recent years.

It first expanded into Canada in 2016, immediately establishing a presence in Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec. In 2020, after receiving approval from ICBC, it launched in British Columbia. According to the company, it now has hundreds of thousands of active guests using tens of thousands of vehicles listed across eight provinces.

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