Millennial & Gen Z New Yorkers Surveyed and Share Wacky Things They Would Rather Do Than Stand in Line at the Rental Car Counter

July 11, 2023 at 08:30 AM EDT

Carsharing leader Getaround, in collaboration with YouGov, recently set out to discover what makes people tick during the busy summer travel season

Getaround (NYSE: GETR), the world's first connected carsharing marketplace, today announced the results of a recent survey conducted in collaboration with market research firm YouGov to uncover the frustrations New Yorkers have with waiting at the rental car counter as the busy summer travel season officially kicks off. Interestingly, more than eight in 10 (81%) Millennial and Gen Z New Yorkers would rather do at least one of the following than stand in line at the rental car counter:

More than a third each would rather eat street hot dogs at midnight outside of Madison Square Garden (36%) or take the stairs 25 flights up to the top of the Statue of Liberty (34%)
Roughly three in ten each would rather look down from the top of One World Trade (30%) or vacation for a week in Staten Island with their in-laws/partner’s family (28%)
Roughly two in ten each would rather try to find a restroom in Times Square on New Year’s Eve (20%) or walk around Penn Station barefoot (19%)

Given nearly half of Gen Z and Millennial New Yorkers also shared that they’ve either had to wait an hour or more at the rental car counter (47%) or for a delayed bus or train (65%), consumers wish they could have spent that time doing other things — even if to many these things might seem a bit outlandish.

Additional survey findings revealed how Millennial and Gen Z New Yorkers would take advantage of easy access to a car. Most would be more likely to choose to discover new areas around the city (65%), take day or weekend trips outside the city (61%), conduct larger shopping runs that may be hard to do otherwise (62%), and run errands (52%). And knowing that most New Yorkers don’t own a car, nearly half of Millennial and Gen Z New Yorkers wished taking trips to go visit friends and family (48%) were easier.

Booking a car may seem stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Getaround and its patented Connect® technology provide 24/7 access to vehicles you can rent from other car owners conveniently located around the corner from your current location. Connect® enables users to unlock the car via the Getaround app without having to wait in line or arrange an in-person key exchange. Individuals can instantly book the vehicle for any span of time, from one hour to weeks, perfect for local trips including going to the grocery store, attending a meeting, or longer excursions.

Privately owned cars are typically parked 95% of the time and are only used roughly six hours per week. For the remaining 162 hours of the week, most cars stay parked and idle. Peer-to-peer carsharing platforms like Getaround help ease traffic in our cities: Studies show that, on average, one carsharing vehicle replaces nine to 13 vehicles on the road.

About Getaround

Offering a 100% digital experience, Getaround (NYSE: GETR) makes sharing cars and trucks simple through its proprietary cloud and in-car Connect® technology. The company empowers consumers to shift away from car ownership through instant and convenient access to desirable, affordable, and safe cars from entrepreneurial hosts. Getaround’s on-demand technology enables a contactless experience — no waiting in line at a car rental facility, manually completing paperwork, or meeting anyone to collect or drop off car keys. Getaround’s mission is to utilize its peer-to-peer marketplace to help solve some of the most pressing challenges facing the world today, including environmental sustainability and access to economic opportunity. Launched in 2011, Getaround is available today in more than 1,000 cities across the United States and Europe. For more information, please visit https://www.getaround.com/.

Methodology: All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1005 adults, 461 of which were Gen Z and Millennials aged 18-42. Fieldwork was undertaken between 5th - 9th June 2023. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all NYC DMA adults (aged 18+).