General Motors’ car subscription service, Maven, is officially donezo. Maven was essentially an app-based car-sharing service that was created to compete with the likes of Share Now and Zipcar. When it was first introduced in 2016, it was marketed as the “AirBnB of cars”. Maven members could borrow cars in their area for personal use as well as use the cars to drive for rideshares Uber and Lyft. GM attributes the Maven shutdown to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Earlier Signs of Trouble

Even before coronavirus troubles. GM was struggling with Maven. During its prime, Maven was accessible in 17 cities in the U.S. In the summer of 2018, there were more than 145,000 members who altogether generated over 290 million driven miles. 

Fast-forward to the middle of 2019 and Maven was backing out of half of the cities it served including big markets Chicago, Boston, and New York. This decision followed the departure of its CEO who left earlier that year. Maven continued to operate in its strongest markets which included Detroit, Los Angeles, D.C., and Toronto but was unable to withstand ongoing concerns.

How Did Maven Work Exactly? 

Maven was basically a more convenient way to rent a car as opposed to Hertz and Enterprise. The weekly fee to use your choice of a Maven compact, sedan, crossover, or electric vehicle. Unlike other similar services, it didn’t try to upsell riders on additional upgrades or insurance which was refreshing. Drivers just had to pay for the rental itself and didn’t have to pay a monthly subscription fee. Maven members also appreciated the fact that the service was extremely convenient so it’s sad to see one of the better car-sharing services go.

Winding Down Operations 

Maven obviously isn’t taking new members anymore, but are instead working with their customers to return their vehicles. The company is also carefully working with the rideshare drivers as part of their Maven Gig program to return vehicles. However, the company expects this process to take much longer since rideshare drivers have been essential in providing consistent food deliveries across the nation.

Additional Car-Sharing Options 

With Maven gone and Daimler and BMW’s Share Now service departure from the U.S., you might be wondering what other car-sharing options you may have. There are a few other curious options among drivers in the U.S. and it might be good to keep them in mind for the future, and not during a pandemic.

Most similar to Maven is Zipcar which is actually a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group. This alternative to car rentals allows you to reserve a car by the minute, hour, or day. Zipcar does have a membership fee, which you can choose to pay monthly or annually.

There’s Turo, which is a peer-to-peer car-sharing company that allows you to list your car free, set your own price, and driving arrangements. Turo says you can make up to $706 a month by listing your car. Getaround is another large online car sharing marketplace that works similarly to Turo.