Last night, D.C.’s transportation junkies were officially introduced to the latest wave of car sharing startups at launch parties just two miles apart.
Getaround celebrated with an upbeat dance party at Union Market’s Dock 5, while
Split’s guests flooded Mount Vernon’s Long View Gallery munching on tacos and nachos courtesy of District Taco. Both provided plenty of free booze and merch.
Launched in San Francisco, Getaround gained success with its peer-to-peer model allowing carless individuals to rent vehicles from people nearby while car owners make money allowing others to use their cars when they would ordinarily sit idle for extended periods of time.
Here’s a video of how it works.
Split aims to provide a smart, sustainable and affordable option allowing its users to get picked up and ride along with strangers who are headed in a similar direction. The Split app is only available for iPhone users at the moment, so Android users will have to wait a couple months to join the party.