Maven — General Motors Co.’s mobility services platform — launched a new service today, to offer rideshare and delivery drivers an alternative to leasing.
Through the new program, called Maven Gig, drivers can rent the vehicles for $229 per week. The fee includes insurance (minus deductibles), maintenance, and unlimited miles, according to a company press release. The Chevrolet Bolt EV will be the initial vehicle offering with free charging at EVgo stations.
Maven Gig drivers can rent the EVs, not for personal use, but for independent gigs that they choose, such as package delivery, food or grocery delivery, and ridesharing. The program is live in San Diego and will launch in San Francisco and Los Angeles later this year.
Maven’s initial partners include GrubHub, Instacart, and Roadie, as well as Uber and Lyft, with additional gig economy partners to be added to the program as needed, Rachel Bhattacharya, General Motors Co.’s director of commercial mobility and AV fleet operations, told Mobility Buzz.
“We are always exploring new partners,” she said. “What we wanted to do initially is layer in delivery, which is a nice complement to rideshare. From a renter perspective, the time of day when you can get the most earnings on delivery, tend to be different than for the rideshare platform. We are open to adding new partners, but to begin with it was more important to us focus on the broad category and pick one strong partner in each category.”
However, as Maven sees renters express interest in certain platforms, the company will “reach out and coordinate,” she added.
Maven launched the program in response to a growing need for rentals, beyond just for rideshare platforms. Maven’s ridesharing rental program has produced more than 100 million miles driven and 9.3 million rides have been given. The company applied those learnings to launch Maven Gig, and help make the sharing economy more accessible, according to the release.
Maven has expanded to 17 cities in North America since it launched in January 2016, and has attracted 35,000 members who have driven more than 115 million miles through 45,000 reservations. Since last year, Maven has provided vehicles for ridesharing in 11 markets, and Maven City carsharing is active in 13 markets.
