GM Revs Up Car Sharing With RelayRides and OnStar Hook-Up

Owners of GM vehicles equipped with the OnStar system can rent them out thanks to a new nationwide program with car-sharing service RelayRides.

The program essentially means that the average owner of a GM vehicle can start a car rental business to earn extra money in what is becoming known as a peer-to-peer arrangement.

Renters unlock the cars using a smartphone or by sending a text message and then access the keys the owner has hidden inside the vehicle. The OnStar system has an embedded cellular modem that enables renters to bypass a physical hand-off of the keys to the car. GM describes the setup as "an entirely new mobility solution for U.S. drivers."

"Depending on the location and availability of the car, RelayRides marketplace participants can earn hundreds of dollars per month from their idle vehicles," said GM in a statement on Tuesday. "Owners whose cars are not OnStar-enabled can still rent out their vehicles through the RelayRides' marketplace by exchanging keys with the renter."

RelayRides, a San Francisco car-sharing company, said in a statement on its Web site that car owners "control the price and decide who rents your car and when." The minimum hourly price is $5 and the maximum is $50. It says that participants can earn "up to $600 a month." The car is covered with a $1 million liability policy during rentals. RelayRides gets a 40 percent cut in the deal.

Wired.com notes that the partnership should be a win for RelayRides, which it said "offered some of the lowest rates, but had one of the thinnest fleets."

Courtesy of Edmunds Inside Line