(Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. can’t sell cars to manyapartment-dwelling New Yorkers, so it’s testing a plan to rent themone.
|GM will try a pilot program with residents of the Ritz Plazaapartments in Times Square, offering them a crack at renting GMcars by the hour or the day to get around New York. For many NewYorkers, especially those in Manhattan, owning a car is onerousbecause parking is limited and very expensive. They rely instead oncabs, the subway or ride-hailing services such as Uber.
|Related: Update on insurance issues for ride-sharing andcar-sharing
|If the program works, GM may expand it; there already are plansto try the service in another U.S. city that the company didn’tidentify. GM also has a pilot program with its Opel brand inGermany.
|“We view evolving consumer preferences, such as car-sharing, asreal business opportunities,” President Dan Ammann said.
|Let’s Drive NYC, as the program is called,starts today and serves only the 479-unit Ritz Plaza, which is onWest 48th Street. GM’s rates are undercutting what Avis BudgetGroup Inc.’s Zipcar unit charges. Zipcar charges $12.75 an hourduring the week and $94 for a day and more on weekends, accordingto its website; GM will charge $10 an hour and $75 for the day. Asresidents make lease payments, they’ll get credits for three hoursof rental a month.
|Ritz Plaza residents can rent a Chevrolet Trax compact sportutility vehicle or Chevy Equinox small SUV.
|Copyright 2018 Bloomberg. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,or redistributed.
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