How to Use Car Sharing to Get Around (or Make Money) in New York
Last Updated on October 26, 2026 by James Shaffer · Reviewed for accuracy by Daniel Major, licensed insurance agent (NPN 14733759)
Car sharing lets you book a car for a few hours or a few days without owning one, and peer-to-peer platforms let you earn money by renting out a car you already own. In New York, the two main options right now are Zipcar for fleet cars and Turo for privately owned cars. If you plan to list your own car, New York has a specific peer-to-peer car sharing law that decides whose insurance pays during a trip, and your personal policy can exclude coverage for that time.
At a Glance
- Fewer Choices Than Before: Zipcar and Turo both serve New York City. Getaround, once a major peer-to-peer option, began winding down its U.S. business in February 2025.
- The Program Covers the Trip: Under New York law, the platform’s group liability policy is primary during a peer-to-peer trip, and since June 17, 2026 it must carry at least three times the state’s basic liability minimums.
- Your Own Policy Can Step Aside: New York lets a car owner’s personal auto policy exclude all coverage during a sharing period, so you still need your own policy for the rest of the time.
- Check Your Lender First: Sharing a financed or leased car may break your loan or lease contract, and platforms must warn you about this before you list.
- When Car Sharing Makes Sense in New York
- Car-Sharing Services That Operate in New York
- Car-Sharing Models Compared
- How Booking a Shared Car Works
- Costs and Rules to Watch
- Insurance When You Drive a Shared Car
- How to Make Money Renting Out Your Car in New York
- New York's Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Law
- Car Sharing vs. Rideshare
- FAQs on Car Sharing
When Car Sharing Makes Sense in New York
Car sharing works best for people who drive now and then. If you live in the city and use the subway most days, paying for a car only when you need it can cost less than keeping one year-round, once you count insurance, parking, and maintenance. If you drive every day, the hourly and daily charges add up fast.
- Errands, appointments, and weekend trips out of the city
- A bigger vehicle for a move or a trip with family
- Getting a car near an airport without going to a rental counter
- Earning some money from a car you own but don’t drive every day
Car-Sharing Services That Operate in New York
Zipcar runs a fleet of its own cars in the New York and New Jersey area. Trips are round trip, so you pick up and return the car at the same home location. Members generally must be 21 or older, or 18 for students or where local rules allow.
Turo is a marketplace where private owners, called hosts, list their cars. Turo lists cars across New York City and near JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports, and hosts can choose to offer delivery.
Older articles often name Getaround as a peer-to-peer option. In February 2025, Getaround announced an orderly wind-down of its U.S. operations, including HyreCar, while keeping its European business. Some one-way, free-floating services have also pulled out of U.S. cities, so confirm a service still operates where you are before you count on it.
Car-Sharing Models Compared
| Model | How It Works | Insurance Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Round-trip fleet (Zipcar) | Book by the hour or day and return the car to its home spot | Company provides liability and damage protection; you may owe a damage fee |
| Free-floating (one-way) | End the trip anywhere inside a service zone | Terms vary by operator and city; availability in the U.S. has shrunk |
| Peer-to-peer (Turo) | Borrow a privately owned car, usually by the day | In New York, the program’s group policy is primary during the trip |
How Booking a Shared Car Works
- Create an account. The service checks your driver’s license and identity, which can take minutes or longer.
- Book in the app. Pick the time window and look at the full price, including any protection plan and fees.
- Unlock and inspect the car. Many cars unlock through the app. Walk around the car before you drive.
- Drive and refuel or charge as the rules require. Zipcar puts a gas card in the car; EVs may need to be plugged in at the end.
- Return the car on time to the right place, and take end-of-trip photos.
Quick tip: Before you pull away, take timestamped photos of the outside of the car and the dashboard, and report any existing damage in the app. Turo, for example, requires hosts to photograph the car at the start and end of each trip to qualify for damage reimbursement.
Costs and Rules to Watch
The booking price is rarely the whole cost. Each service sets its own fees, so read the member or guest terms before your first trip. Zipcar, for example, lists a $30 charge if you return a car with less than a quarter tank, a cleaning fee of $50 or more, and late fees on top of the extra time.
- Mileage: Some bookings include a set number of miles, with a charge for each mile over.
- Late returns: Fees can climb quickly when another driver has the car booked after you.
- Tolls and tickets: You’re usually responsible, often with an added processing fee. In Manhattan, driving onto local streets at or below 60th Street triggers the MTA’s Congestion Relief Zone toll, on top of bridge and tunnel tolls.
- Smoking and pets: Zipcar bans smoking, and Turo hosts set their own rules.
- Age rules: Minimum ages and young-driver fees differ by platform and by car.
Insurance When You Drive a Shared Car
Zipcar
Zipcar says its basic coverage includes third-party liability and, where required, personal injury protection (no-fault) that meet the minimums of the state where an accident happens. That liability coverage is secondary, which means it applies only after any other insurance you have is used up. If you own a car and carry your own policy, your insurer may be first in line.
Damage to the Zipcar itself is covered after a damage fee of up to $2,500. Zipcar’s optional damage protection lowers that fee to $375 with the Plus option or $0 with Premium, for members who are 18 or older and have had no Zipcar accidents in the past 12 months. Zipcar notes that buying this protection caps what you can be charged for damage but doesn’t change your insurance coverage.
Turo and Other Peer-to-Peer Trips
When you borrow a car through a peer-to-peer program in New York, the program’s group liability policy is primary for the trip. Since June 17, 2026, Turo provides New York’s peer-to-peer minimums by default, which it lists as $75,000 per person and $150,000 per accident, and offers guests the option to buy supplemental liability insurance at checkout. Damage to the host’s car is handled through the protection plan you pick, so compare what each plan leaves you owing.
Your personal auto policy and some credit cards may also cover rentals, though car sharing doesn’t always count as a rental under their terms. Our guide to rental car insurance explains how those coverages usually work, and your insurer can tell you whether your policy treats car sharing the same way.
How to Make Money Renting Out Your Car in New York
If you have a reliable car that sits parked most of the week, listing it on a peer-to-peer platform can help cover what it costs to own. On Turo, your share of each trip depends on the plan you choose. Its current plans pay hosts 70%, 80%, or 90% of the trip price, with higher earnings tied to a higher amount you’d pay toward damage ($250, $1,500, or $2,750). Check Turo’s host protection page for the terms in effect when you list, since they change.
- Read your loan or lease: Sharing a car that has a lien on it may violate your contract with the lender, and some lease agreements limit commercial use.
- Call your insurer: Ask how your policy treats peer-to-peer trips and whether your coverage stays in place when the car isn’t on a trip. If you need to shop for a new policy, our reviews of New York auto insurers are a place to start.
- Pick a protection plan: Compare how much you’d pay toward damage under each plan, what it excludes, and how fast you must report damage. Turo requires damage reports within 24 hours after a trip ends.
- Set your rules: Decide on mileage limits, minimum trip length, delivery, and whether you allow pets.
- Keep registration and inspection current: The DMV advises drivers to check the registration and inspection sticker dates before accepting a shared car, so expired stickers can cost you bookings.
- Plan for downtime: Repairs, cleaning, and claims can keep the car off the road. Turo’s plans don’t pay for lost hosting income or normal wear and tear.
New York’s Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Law
New York regulates peer-to-peer car sharing under Article 40 of the General Business Law, with related rules in the Insurance Law. The law applies to platforms that connect private owners with drivers. It doesn’t apply to traditional rental car companies.
The Program’s Insurance Comes First During a Trip
Under General Business Law Section 901, the program must carry insurance for each car sharing period, usually through a group policy that covers the car, the owner, and the driver. That group policy is primary during the sharing period. The sharing period generally starts when the driver takes the car (or when delivery starts) and ends when the trip time runs out at the agreed spot, the car is returned, or the owner takes it back.
The required amount changed in 2026. A law signed in December 2025 (Chapter 696 of the Laws of 2025) dropped the earlier $1.25 million requirement and set the minimum at three times the financial responsibility limits for a standard New York owner’s policy. New York’s basic minimums are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury and $10,000 for property damage, according to DFS. The change took effect for trips starting on or after June 17, 2026. Programs must now provide extra liability coverage or offer the chance to buy it.
What Your Personal Policy Can Exclude
New York Insurance Law allows an owner’s personal auto policy to exclude every coverage during the sharing period, including liability, no-fault, uninsured motorist, SUM, and physical damage, as long as the insurer has told the owner it has no duty to defend or pay those losses. Outside the sharing period, your own policy is what covers the car, so you need to keep it active.
The law also protects owners in one way. An insurer can’t cancel an existing auto policy solely because the car was made available through a peer-to-peer program that follows Article 40. Other cancellation and nonrenewal rules still apply.
DMV Reporting and Other Program Duties
Since September 1, 2022, programs have had to report each enrolled vehicle and proof of group coverage to the DMV, which makes that information public. The DMV’s peer-to-peer car sharing page links to the list, though the data is only as current as what the programs report.
- The program must give the driver proof of insurance to keep in the car during the trip.
- Before you list a car, the program must tell you in plain language that sharing a car with a lien may violate your lender’s contract.
- Owners must acknowledge that they can be held liable for negligence beyond the insurance limits.
- The program must keep trip records, such as times and mileage, and share them for claims within ten business days of a request.
Quick tip: Before you list, ask your insurer in writing whether your policy excludes peer-to-peer trips and whether it offers any excess coverage for them. New York law lets insurers sell excess or umbrella coverage that applies during a sharing period, though not every company does.
Car Sharing vs. Rideshare
Car sharing means you drive a car you’ve booked. Ridesharing means someone drives you, or you drive passengers for pay through an app like Uber or Lyft. Driving passengers for pay falls under different insurance and licensing rules, which our guide to New York rideshare insurance requirements explains.