Maven to expand on-demand short-term Gig rentals to 6 more U.S. cities

GM’s Maven car sharing company is expanding its Gig service across the U.S., with six new major urban markets to be added to the locations where the short-term rental service aimed at gig economy workers is available. Those include L.A., where it’s going live today, as well as Boston, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C. this fall, with Baltimore and Detroit to be added some time after that.

Maven Gig offers cars from its fleet of GM vehicles on a weekly basis, with no longer-term commitments required. Gig rolls in insurance (minus the deductible), unlimited miles and regular maintenance for one flat weekly fee, which start at $180 per week plus tax for vehicles like the Chevrolet Cruze.

The idea is that the freelance driving economy, including ride hailing as well as activities like grocery and package delivery, all require people to have readily available vehicles. Gig economy workers are often occasional, however, and work when they need to boost their spending but not necessarily on a consistent basis that would be best served by them owning their own vehicle.

The new expansion also brings in a new official partner, HopSkipDrive, which is a ride sharing service designed for getting kids around town with additional screening processes for drivers and real-time monitoring. Other official partners including GrubHub, Instacart, Roadie and more, though Gig can be used for any freelance workers looking for a vehicle on a limited term basis.

Maven says Gig drivers have already driven over 170 million miles since the service began in 2016, with the Bolt EV (Gig’s most popular rental option) having driven 1.4 million all-electric miles in California since February, 2017. Maven says Gig drivers average 30 percent more miles per day than those using traditional engine vehicles.