Turo is considered the world’s largest car-sharing marketplace and it’s officially here at Corpus Christi International Airport (CCIA). Recently, city council members approved an agreement between the CCIA and Turo to bring more convenience to travelers.
Vivian Wang compares the car-sharing service to Airbnb, but for vehicles. She said she heard of Turo from a friend and that's how she got started. She posted two of her vehicles online —a Honda Accord and a Jeep Wrangler. She added that majority of her renters come from CCIA and the increase of business has helped pay for her brand new car.
“About 80% of our drop off and pick ups are created here [at the airport]," Wang said. "So the income from the Turo business kind of helps compensate the car payments for the Jeep.”
Kevin Smith, the city’s Director of Aviation at CCIA, said he has used Turo himself and loved it. Under the agreement, Turo will also be sharing 10% of their gross revenue with the airport, which is considered a great deal for an airport of this size.
"This is another option for those travelers," Smith said. "You can get a Turo pretty much 24/7. We’ve seen them in our parking lot, so we knew they were operating here. So we felt like an official agreement was the right thing to do, so we can make sure they have the right insurance.
Turo officially operates out of three other Texas airports including Dallas Love Field, Abilene Regional Airport, and Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport. The company also has hosts across 11,000 cities worldwide. Ultimately, the company emphasized that their goal is to enhance traveling experiences by making them convenient for everyone.
“Corpus Christi has been talking about this for a while. We’ve been talking about this for a long time," , Turo spokeswoman Catherine Mejia said. "We want to be everywhere. Our hosts want to be everywhere in terms of offering that transportation to anyone who needs it.”
Currently, there over two dozen Turo hosts located in Corpus Christi. If you're interested in being a host, just sign up on the website.
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