![]() I found the garage and parking level easily enough, but there were no signs pointing me to the Maven cars. GM communications manager Annalisa Bluhm said that this problem is on the company’s radar and it is always working on improvements to the service. ![]() Zipcar, on the other hand, provides walking directions to its cars and details on how best to return them. On the app, I had the address and the parking garage level where the car was parked, but no further details. The hardest part of the day was finding the car I’d reserved. The car also included a transponder for the parking garage and another one for the tollways in the Chicago area. Gas does not cost extra, and drivers are insured up to the minimum state-required levels. Renting the Malibu for a few hours won’t cost you an arm and a leg - which is a nice consolation, living in costly Chicago. The hourly rate for the Malibu was $8 per hour before taxes (the lowest rate available), but rates can be as high as $14 per hour for larger vehicles, like SUVs. There were 21 other Maven locations in Chicago. I set my desired date and time filters and chose to reserve a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan in a parking garage a few blocks from the office. There is no option to set a passcode lock, so if someone got into my iPhone, they could easily find all that personal information. Anyone who opened it could see my name, home address and driver’s license information (including expiration date and home state). I didn’t like that the app listed all of my personal information. Most rental companies allow drivers to do both Zipcar does, too. Once I was in Maven’s app, though, I liked the app’s interface you can see nearby Maven car locations, as well as the number and types of vehicles there. To make a reservation, I had to download the Maven app, which made me miss the convenience of reserving a car from a website or using an automated phone system. The quick approval also made me wonder how thoroughly it checked my information. I was approved only a few hours later, which was convenient. I received a confirmation email within minutes, and was told that Maven would approve or deny my membership application within two business days. Maven waived the $35 annual membership fee at the time because of a public promotion, so it charged my card only $1 to verify that it was a valid payment method. I filled in my personal and driver’s license information, set my “preferred market” as Chicago, and I provided my credit card information. I signed up online rather than through the smartphone app, available as an Android and iPhone app. ![]() Signing up for Maven was quick and painless. I’ve been using Zipcar for almost a year. Maven aims to provide its customers with “highly personalized, on-demand mobility services,” GM said in a statement. It has since expanded to other cities including Boston, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. GM announced the launch of its car-sharing program back in January, beginning with 21 parking spots in Ann Arbor, Mich. Related: GM’s Car-Sharing Service Hits Million-Mile Milestone But is there room for GM’s Maven program, and what does it offer that Zipcar doesn’t? Automakers such as GM have ventured into the car-sharing market, too. While Zipcar leads the market with locations in 348 cities worldwide, services like car2go and Enterprise CarShare are popular car rental services. Car-sharing membership has grown in North America from 200,000 members in 2006 to 1.6 million in 2014, and car companies are taking note.
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