Thanks to Robin Chase my “stranded on the isle of Manhattan on a hot July Saturday with no way out” dilemma was solved with her brilliant company Zipcar, the car sharing club that lets you rent cars by hour or day. She’s sticking to her environmentally-friendly car-sharing roots with her new startup buzzcar. Here’s the scoop.
Buzzcar… AirBnB for cars?
I just watched the Buzzcar demo video, which is in French… so the only thing I got from it was the desire to go to Paris and take intensive French courses next summer. Luckily, the site is in English so I do actually know what Buzzcar is all about. Building on the Zipcar idea, Buzzcar is the “rent a car from your neighbor” startup. Here are the highlights:
- You find a car listed on the site that is available to rent near you.
- You rent for a few hours or days for shopping, errands, etc. (buzzcar takes care of the gas and insurance).
- The smartphone app eliminates pesky car-renting paperwork as it’s time-stamped with the car’s location.
- Driver and owner rate the transaction and become part of the “hive”, that way you can see other’s experiences.
- Oh yeah, it’s also good for the environment; less cars driven equals a healthier planet.
Buzzcar reminds me of Airbnb – you have an extra car that doesn’t get used, and you have a neighbor that needs a car for the weekend. Boom. It’s a win-win-win. You get a little extra cash, your neighbor gets some wheels and the planet gets an emission break. So far it has only launched in France, but hopefully it will soon help you find a car in your respective country/city/hood.
So who is the tree-hugging (in the best way) entrepreneur behind this transportation revolution?
Robin Chase: Saving the planet one car-share at a time
Robin has received some pretty sweet accolades for her entrepreneurial work and sits on the World Resources board as well as being a member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the World Economic Forum’s Transportation Council.
She also founded goloco.net which uses social networking with carpooling to help you create group trips through finding others heading to your destination.
Three ventures with the environment’s protection in mind makes Robin a seriously innovative and cool entrepreneur. So, if you’re looking to rent your car, rent some else’s or find a group to carpool with, check out one of Robin’s car-sharing startups and join her on her planet-saving journey.
