Getting around in many major American metropolitan areas is surprisingly difficult without a car. While some cities like New York have robust train and bus networks, others' public transportation options are time consuming and inconvenient. That’s why many tourists opt to rent a vehicle or pay out the nose for rideshares.
It can be a tough choice. Sure, renting a car is convenient—but do you really want to be responsible for a vehicle for your whole trip?
One woman recently tried a hybrid between rideshares and car rentals. Now she’s sharing what the experience was like.
How Does This Rental Car Business Work?
In a video with over 17,000 views, TikTok user Tammy (@techietammy) documents her experience getting a Vay Car.
“So Wednesday was my off day, and I decided to take a Vay car, which is pretty much like an autonomous rental,” Tammy explains. “The vehicle is delivered to you. Somebody drives it to you using remote controls, and then from there, once you get the car, you just take it over and you just drive it for the day.”
From there, Tammy shows what it’s actually like to get and use the car. The car is delivered to her by a remote operator. Then, when she gets in, the operator gives her directions regarding how to use the car and where to park it. After that, the operator hangs up, allowing Tammy to drive freely. The maximum rental time, the operator says, is 12 hours.
“This is supposed to be more affordable than taking an Uber or a Lyft, so we'll see,” Tammy says as she begins to drive.
Is It Really More Affordable?
Then Tammy goes about her day. She shops at a comic book store, gets a pedicure, then makes her way to the movies. This whole process takes about two hours. For all of this drive time and distance, Tammy says she was charged around $40.
“It's gonna cost me $40, which is really good,” Tammy says, noting the amount of places she visited.
“Definitely worth it, because Uber one way is $20,” she adds. “So to hit all these stops and have the convenience of having my own car to get around with? Definitely recommend. Definitely booking again.”
What You Should Know About Vay Car
Vay Car positions itself somewhere between an autonomous vehicle, a rental car, and a rideshare. According to the company’s website, cars are delivered to customers and parked without drivers. From there, a customer can drive the car, at which point they are charged by the minute.
Whether this service is cheaper than a rideshare like Lyft or Uber is dependent on what exactly one is looking for from a vehicle and a ride. The company’s website claims that its prices are $0.25/min while driving and $0.60/mile. If the car is paused, the driver is charged for being in “Stopover Mode,” which is $0.10 per minute.
These aren’t the only costs. There’s also a base fare of $0.99 per rental and a $2.99 charge for driverless delivery.
In many cases, this is cheaper than Lyft or Uber. For example, RideWise estimates the cost of a five mile, 15-minute trip at $14 for UberX and $13 for standard Lyft before surge pricing. In comparison, the same ride with Vay would cost around $7.74 (or $10.73 with delivery). It should be noted that, at present, this service is only available in Las Vegas, Nevada.
What Do Travelers Think?
In the comments section, many said they would be willing to try Vay Car.
“Oh I like this. My last trip I needed a car for a few hours but I just didn’t do those things,” said a commenter.
“I did this one day as well but I didn’t do the valet option. The car was across the street,” recalled another. “It is cool if you need to hit a few spots. Calling hella Ubers is pricey.”
“It was helpful and it was definitely cheaper than Ubering everywhere when my car was in the shop,” offered a third. “My only issue was the two different cars I had smelled bad.”
That said, some users were not convinced.
“Knowing they have a camera and audio installed is yikes to me,” stated a commenter. “If you are on the phone, they probably can listen in on your private conversations.”
Motor1 contacted Tammy via direct message. We’ll update this if she responds.
Update Sept. 3: In an email, a Vay Car spokesperson told Motor1 that their cars are typically half the price of Uber or Lyft.
"Vay's flexibility suits a broad mix of customers: students, commuters, one-car households, people with disabilities, tourists, and business travelers," a spokesperson wrote. "What they share is a need for a car some of the time, without the cost and hassle of owning one. Common use cases are running errands, driving to leisure activities, and commuting to work or school."
"The Stopover Function does the most to deliver flexibility and savings. It lets customers keep the car between destinations instead of ending the trip and booking again, which is a main differentiator from ride-hailing," the spokesperson continued. "Additionally, Remote Valet takes the parking search off their hands: a Remote Driver moves the car once the customer has arrived, saving time in busy areas where parking is scarce."
Regarding whether drivers are monitored, the spokesperson stated that there are no cameras inside Vay vehicles, and that "we are not listening to our users while a Vay car is in use." After a remote driver delivers the vehicle, Vay says the driver disconnects "entirely."
"Vay ensures reliability during active remote vehicle operation through a comprehensive, multi-layered connectivity approach. By leveraging multiple network providers, the system remains resilient against outages or network congestion," the spokesperson stated. "Additionally, Vay implements a multi-stage, weeks-long training process to prepare Remote Drivers for various driving scenarios and traffic conditions, setting high standards to ensure safe operations."
While the spokesperson stated that the company looks forward to launching in additional American cities soon, they could not provide any further details at the present moment.
