There are about 23 million cars on the road in Canada and a recent survey by the car sharing platform Turo found that many of them sit idle most of the time.
“So many people have a car and the fact they are spending so much money on their cars, but in the end that asset is vastly underutilized," said Cedric Mathieu, Vice President of Turo Canada.
Turo has been around for about five years in Canada and it’s been called the Airbnb of car sharing. It’s car ownership survey found that 83 per cent of Canadians own or lease a vehicle, but those vehicles sit idle 95 per cent of the time.
The survey also looked at the cost of vehicle ownership and found the annual cost of owning a car, not including gas, maintenance and other expenses, is $4,937 nationally and slightly higher at $5,249 in Ontario.
Turo says 1.2 million Canadians have signed up to rent more than 55,000 cars through its platform on its app and website. Clients can rent a vehicle from a private owner often cheaper than a traditional rental company or rent a luxury vehicle for a special occasion.
Mathieu says vehicle owners who want to become hosts on the Turo platform can rent out their cars to generate income with a vehicle that may be sitting idle in their driveway anyway.
"It’s really a platform that connects car owners who have a car but don’t use it all the time with people who need cars,” said Mathieu.
Tamer Gargour of North York doesn’t own a car and sometimes needs one for a long period of time and said he finds it easier to rent one from another car owner through the platform.
"I never had time to invest in a full-time car and I have used it (Turo) consistently every month. I’ve used it for a year and half non-stop," said Gargour.
Turo has insurance, which can help protect both renters and hosts who provide their cars. The company says it’s an option for those who need a vehicle occasionally, but don’t want the expense of ownership.
"Our mission at Turo is paving the way for a future where there are fewer cars on the road, but the those cars are accessed by a larger number of people," said Mathieu.
Renting out your personal car to strangers may not be for everyone, but Mathieu said the concept is gaining traction with more users and that hosts in Canada who rent out their cars make an average of almost $800 a month.
The woman who filed a lawsuit against Hockey Canada over an alleged group sexual assault recently passed a polygraph examination, her lawyer said Tuesday. The result of the polygraph test, which was arranged by the complainant's lawyer, was provided to the London Police, the Hockey Canada review and the NHL investigators.
While there are many perks to owning a property, renting your home comes with benefits as well. So, how should you decide whether to buy or rent your home? Personal finance columnist Christopher Liew breaks it down in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
China says its military has been put on high alert and will launch ‘targeted military operations,’ while Taiwan said Tuesday 21 Chinese aircraft entered its air defence zone.
An 11-year-old girl missing from Stratford, Ont. has been found safe.
Doctors have successfully separated a pair of 3-year-old twin boys fused at the brain after months of cross-continental planning through a virtual reality operating theatre.
Canadian company Somedays aims to break down the stigma surrounding menstrual cramps by putting men’s tolerance for suffering to the test with a period-pain simulator.
The father of a four-year-old girl who was struck and killed by a GO train in Mississauga, Ont. last week is speaking out for the first time since the accident.
A Snowbirds aircraft crashed in Northern B.C. shortly after takeoff Tuesday afternoon.
A seven-year-old boy is recovering in hospital after being attacked by a cougar north of Rocky Mountain House on the weekend.
A Montreal man is facing a life sentence in the United States after pleading guilty to importing fentanyl into that country from his Canadian prison cell.
The owner of a popular Indian restaurant on Montreal's Saint-Laurent Boulevard says he has been forced to temporarily shut down his business because of ongoing construction right outside his doorstep.
The Sunrise assisted living home on St-Jean Boulevard in Dollard-des-Ormeaux has confirmed an outbreak of Legionnaire's disease in the building that sent two people to hospital last week.
An 11-year-old girl missing from Stratford, Ont. has been found safe.
Oxford OPP are investigating a report of a robbery in Zorra Township where suspects were dressed in black and showed an 'edged weapon.'
The Ministry of Labour has been called in to investigate after a death in Blandford-Blenheim Township near Woodstock, Ont.
An 11-year-old girl missing from Stratford, Ont. has been found safe.
It’s been a hot summer that has been met with red-hot inflation, which is hitting ice cream truck operators across southwestern Ontario.
Top Glove Boxing Academy in Sudbury is hosting a 5K fundraising run Aug. 13 to help it recover after the COVID-19 pandemic
The competition is on to find the best and most creative burger in all of Sudbury.
Ontario's Minister of Mines, George Pirie said while he's been getting ready to open his constituency office in Timmins, he's already had meetings regarding progress on the Ring of Fire mining development.
Two men are facing a list of charges after police seized a loaded handgun in the ByWard Market over the long weekend.
The Ontario Liberals are calling on Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones to break weeks of silence and address growing hospital emergency room and intensive care unit closures.
The Glengarry Memorial Hospital in Alexandria, Ont. has reopened its ER to 24 hour service, but only for part of the week.
“She was just a little baby, she didn't deserve this." Susan DaSilva can’t fathom why anyone would hurt her daughter’s 11-month-old husky named Angel.
A Special Weather Statement is in effect for the region with humidex values expected to reach 45C Wednesday.
The City of Windsor is shifting 12 facilities to renewable energy consumption as part of a $2.4 million investment to make city-owned buildings more efficient.
A 12-year-old Barrie boy hopes to make life a little easier for students fleeing the war in Ukraine, one backpack at a time.
An 11-year-old girl missing from Stratford, Ont. has been found safe.
Police have issued a warrant for a 31-year-old Wasaga Beach man charged with attempted murder and aggravated sexual assault.
After being officially reclassified as medical science professionals over a year ago, some New Brunswick paramedics say they have yet to receive the retroactive pay promised to them.
People who live in a couple of older apartment buildings in north end Dartmouth, N.S., say they're being tossed out now that the owner has sold the properties.
Nova Scotia's legislature wrapped up a short summer session on Tuesday with the passage of a bill rescinding a recommended 12.6 per cent pay raise for its members.
As more people and their pets spend time outdoors, Calgary veterinarians are once again warning about the potentially harmful affects of foxtail grass.
Monday night, Gibran Marquez made a phone call he never wants to make again. Marquez was one of many people trapped in a massive hail storm on Monday evening near Red Deer, which left dozens of vehicles damaged and drivers and passengers bruised and confused along the side of the QEII highway.
A Calgary health facility is shortening the amount of time it offers urgent care due to staffing issues.
It was brief, but a tornado touched down in Manitoba, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.
A Winnipeg library branch’s vestibule is no longer open 24 hours after a person experiencing homelessness started sleeping inside.
A 54-year-old man has been charged with multiple offences after a woman was hit and killed by a truck in a Poplar River parking lot.
Some tenants in a Vancouver rental building say they were forced to walk up and down as many as 10 flights of stairs several times per day during the recent heat wave.
The out-of-control Keremeos Creek wildfire burning near a B.C. mountain resort continues to grow, and has shut down Highway 3A between Penticton and Keremeos.
Not many families could organize a weekend reunion of 300 relatives on a remote B.C. island. The sprawling Indigenous Cook family with roots in Alert Bay did just that.
Monday night, Gibran Marquez made a phone call he never wants to make again. Marquez was one of many people trapped in a massive hail storm on Monday evening near Red Deer, which left dozens of vehicles damaged and drivers and passengers bruised and confused along the side of the QEII highway.
A seven-year-old boy is recovering in hospital after being attacked by a cougar north of Rocky Mountain House on the weekend.
A crane collapsed Tuesday afternoon at a construction site in the area of 102 Avenue and 119 Street.
CTV News Programs
Local News
© 2022 
All rights reserved. Use of this Website assumes acceptance of Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy