As the city of Cambridge puts on hold electrical scooter companies and the coming wintertime makes bike sharing look much less appealing, Boston students and residents can now count on a new car-sharing option to get efficiently from Point A to B.
Maven, the car-sharing service that General Motors started in Ann Arbor, Mich. in early 2016, is launching with six cars at Boston College.
With the addition of Boston College's campus fleet, Maven now has 50 vehicles available across 15 stations in Boston. Station locations include South Boston, Cambridge, the Financial District and Back Bay, among others.
The company established its presence in Boston in May 2016. Currently, it offers two services: Maven City, a traditional car-sharing service that is now expanding to Boston College, and Maven Gig, a car rental service for people who want to drive for Uber or other ride-hailing companies as a job.
To reserve a Maven car, eligible users - who are at least 18 years old and possess a valid, U.S. state-issued or a valid non-U.S. driver's license - need to download the app and submit an application for a free membership. Becoming a member can take up to a few hours, as the company reviews each applicant's driving record.
Upon approval, users can reserve their car from one hour up to 28 days at a time. Pricing starts at $8 per hour.
One of the main differences between Maven and Cambridge-born competitor Zipcar is that the latter allows users to arrange one-way trips in Boston; all Maven cars, instead, must be returned to the same station they were picked up from, at least for now. It's also worth noting that Zipcar, unlike Maven, asks users for a monthly subscription after a free trial of 30 days.
"Maven is invested in serving the city of Boston through a variety of services and offerings, and our expansion at Boston College is a further proof point of that," Tim Harden, Boston general manager of Maven, wrote in an email to BostInno. "We’re always having open and ongoing dialogue on today’s transportation challenges and issues and remain committed to reviewing other partnerships and opportunities that help address those, as they arise."
As of September 2018, Maven had 184,000 registered subscribers across the U.S. The service is also available in Austin, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Baltimore and Detroit (GM's headquarters).
