While Airbnb (ABNB) rentals have launched many people's side hustles into full-time careers, car-sharing apps were always designed to be a source of passive income.
You sign up your car and, when not using it, let someone else drive it for what could be $25 a day for a Fiat 500 or $375 a day for a Bentley Continental.
Peer-to-peer car-sharing company Turo launched out of Boston in 2010 but has exploded in popularity in the last year. Revenue jumped by 207% between 2021 and 2022.
While the company is currently private, Turo filed for approval to go public through an IPO under the TURO ticker in January.
This Real Estate Agent Made $10K In A Few Months
One person to recently turn to Turo for supplementary income is Selina Leitner, a real estate agent at Keller Williams. The 26-year-old lives in Menasha, Wisconsin and rents out her 2018 Jeep Wrangler for $120 a day on top of her commissions.
Courtesy of Parade/TheStreet
"Having a spare vehicle is a great way to make your unused cars earn a little extra money," Leitner told TheStreet. "If you are away on vacation or do not need your car for a certain period of time, it's a great way to utilize the free time."
After putting her car up on the site in December 2020, Leitner earned $8,907 in the year that followed. The Jeep Wrangler is always listed for booking but since Leitner needs a car to drive to home showings and last-minute meetings as a real estate agent, she and her partner have teamed up to share a second car.
"So far that has worked perfectly minus [the] one time we forgot to book the correct days off and we had to use the motorcycle to get to appointments," Leitner said. "That was a fun week!" Leitner also offers discounts for those who book early or for extended periods of time.
Those who only have one car may find the logistics of putting it out for rent more complicated, as with a vacation rental that one visits part of the summer, certain dates (such as when one is away or knows it won't be used) can also be blocked off.
On the other hand, higher cost of maintenance and insurance are expenses that one should consider before putting one's car up for car-sharing. Turo also takes between 15% and 40% of the rental cost from the owner.
On the user end, drivers under the age of 25 have to pay a fee of up to $50 (the actual price varies by one's exact age at the time of driving.)
So Many New Side Hustles Out There
Last year, Turo said that it had more than 85,000 active hosts and 1.3 million active guests in different cities across the country. A company called Getaround has a similar model and has also been gaining traction across the country.
But whether they're a sign of entrepreneurial spirit or certain problems in the job market, side hustles help many people supplement their income in both active and passive ways.
In its round-up of 2022 salaries, Parade identified a number of popular side jobs and sources of passive income — along with home hosting, there are pet sitters, selling used clothes on eBay (EBAY) and virtual personal assistants who spend a few hours a day planning meetings and making reservations for professionals.
READ PARADE'S FEATURE ON LEITNER AND OTHER PEOPLE MAKING MONEY IN NEW WAYS HERE.
