What do Facebook and car sharing have in common? I wouldn’t have thought anything until I learned that a Facebook account is needed to use the peer-to-peer car-sharing service Getaround.

For the first time in the 15 some years since I gave up a car, I need regular access to a vehicle. And so for the first time ever, I may need to reexamine my resistance to Facebook.

A Pace bus used to get me to Plainfield to visit my mother before the coronavirus struck. Since buses left Chicago after noon and returned in the morning, I stayed overnight. Then the virus prohibited visits. Mom’s residence has started to allow outdoor visits, and I’ve seen her three times, twice taking advantage of my neighbors’ car and once of a ride from my niece.

Last Thursday I attempted a trip to Plainfield by bus and train and discovered that Pace has cut its outbound service to a once-daily-bus that arrives too late for a visit at Mom’s residence. The nearest Metra station is a half-hour away, and I don’t want to ask my brother, who lives in Plainfield, for a ride all the time.

Clearly, the limited public transportation options during the coronavirus aren’t going to work for me. I need to drive myself to Plainfield for at least a while.

I considered buying a car again, then decided to look into the car-sharing services Getaround, Turo, and Zipcar.

Getaround looked like the best choice based on rates and auto availability. I was ready to join until I discovered that a Facebook account is required.

Security is the reason, customer service person Regina said in response to my question about why. “We have several authentication checkpoints to verify each member, and because Facebook is one of these checks, we require our renters to have an account at this time. These checkpoints help ensure the trust and safety of our community. We require access to some basic profile information in order to verify your identity.”

Regina was full of assurances that Getaround would protect my privacy and security, but that’s not my concern. Will Facebook protect my privacy and security?

As I’m mulling over the Facebook decision — maybe a topic for the next post — I’ll share my research into the car-sharing services, should you also be a nonowner who needs a car somewhat regularly.

GETAROUND

Getaround is like an Airbnb for car owners. People make their vehicles available at times published on the Getaround website and app. Renters can book by the hour or the day. Rates, set by the owners, are generally lower than Zipcar’s and often better than Turo’s for a daily rental. Getaround adds a small booking fee. Renters pay no membership fee, but there is a one-time fee to run a driver’s license check.

Renters pick up cars at their stated locations and unlock them with a smartphone app. Because renters must refuel the tank to the starting level, they are advised to take a photo of the gas gauge before starting out.

Liability insurance is better than its competitors’, but users may want to upgrade from the free standard insurance to avoid a $3,000 damage fee and charges for roadside assistance. (Renters whose credit cards offer collision damage coverage when car sharing might forego this upgrade, but many credit card companies exclude cars rented through car-sharing services.)

Renters must make sure that returned cars are parked legally for the next 24 hours, so I’d want to rent a car that can be parked in a dedicated space or an uncrowded residential zone.

I have my eye on a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu with garage parking that rents for $21 for five hours, enough time for a round-trip to Plainfield. But there’s the matter of needing a Facebook account . . .

TURO

With Turo’s peer-to-peer car-sharing, owners rent out their cars for a minimum of a day at rates they select. Luxury cars with hefty rates predominate near me. If you live outside the central city, you should have more luck finding a nearby Turo rental for $30 to $40 a day.

Turo has no membership fee but adds at least $15 to each booking. Renters choose from three protection plans that start at $10 for the minimum liability coverage required by the state, a $3,000 damage deductible, and roadside assistance.

Owners and renters agree on how the car keys will be exchanged. Some owners indicate in their web listing that they will deliver the car. As with Getaround, renters must refuel the cars to the pretrip level.

Also as with Getaround, Turo renters must make sure to park returned cars where they’ll be safe from tickets and tows for 24 hours.

ZIPCAR

Zipcar is a commercial service, a subsidiary of Avis. It owns and maintains its cars and sets the rates, so rental prices vary less than with Getaround and Turo. Cars are be rented by the hour or the day.

Since Zipcar charges a membership fee ($7/month or $70/year; 40% off membership and $40 credit for AARP members) but provides gas and free roadside assistance, it can be tricky to compare costs, but consumer reviewers say that Zipcar ends up being more expensive than its competitors. “Getaround typically provides consumers the best value, with Turo following closely behind,” Medium.com says. “If you prefer gas included, Zipcar may be your best option, but the cost of gas doesn’t make up for the difference in cost.”

Nevertheless, Zipcar has some advantages. The cars are late models, and renters don’t have to trust that private owners have maintained the cars. Cars are accessed and returned to dedicated spaces in parking lots. Zipcar has many locations downtown and on the North and Near West Sides. Several Zipcars are parked within walking distance of me, so I feel confident that I could find a car even at the last minute. The Zipcar app or the Zipcard unlocks the rental; keys stay in the car.

Free standard insurance includes the state’s minimum liability coverage and damage protection minus a $1,000 deductible. Additional liability coverage may be chosen when booking a reservation. Damage protection may be upgraded by adding a fee to the monthly membership price (again, people should first check with their credit card companies about collision coverage when using car sharing).

Gas is included, but renters are expected to refuel a low tank, paying with a gas card in the car.

Calculating for my expected usage, I figure Getaround would be about $200 cheaper than Zipcar over a year. Is it worth $200 to me to avoid Facebook? Before answering yes, I should investigate the possibility of giving Facebook minimal information and being a minimal user. More on that to come.

*****

ANTI-TRUMP COMMENTS: 126TH IN AN ONGOING SERIES

“I think he’s utterly unqualified to help lead a COVID response. His medical degree isn’t even close to infectious diseases and public health, and he has no experience in dealing with public health outbreaks. It’s very clear to me that the president brought on somebody who will just be a mouthpiece for his agenda and a ‘yes’ person.”

— Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University law professor who specializes in public health, about Trump’s appointment of Dr. Scott Atlas to his coronavirus task force

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Things are beginning to develop new norms as we lurch along in 2020.  I’m enjoying following the Chicago Blackhawks‘ progress in the Stanley Cup playoffs, which didn’t seem possible when (ice) hockey paused in March and the team’s record wasn’t strong enough to qualify for it. But now, all of the Western Conference playoff teams are in Edmonton and the Eastern Conference teams are in Toronto — while both of those cities’ teams are already eliminated from the playoff.

It feels weird to turn the air conditioner down or off to make sure I can hear the play-by-play call of a real, live hockey game in August. I missed that a lot in the first months of the pandemic. I realized just how much my mental calendar is set by events — during the hockey season, during the playoffs, on Race Day (as my parents called the Indianapolis 5oo day), during the Triple Crown horse races. Even the political conventions — one starting tonight — won’t be the same this year.

Everything had seemed to be in what hockey players and fans call summer — “the off-season.” Everything has been “off” in some way, whether closed, slowed down, reduced or just missing.

So it’s great fun to keep following the games. Other oddities aren’t such fun, such as having to put my mask on to put the trash out or do the laundry.

The oddity I may remember the longest was at church two Sundays ago. Instead of sitting at my desk and watching the service on my PC, I went back to church and participated in the readings for the broadcast service. I hadn’t been in the church for five months and one day — a record for my adult life. Just being there touched me deeply, and I was glad to participate. Hearing the soprano soloist and organist start practicing Mozart’s “Laudate Dominum” just as I came in was a great delight.

So at least those oddities can be wonderful. Maybe the fact that I was pitching in, contributing my voice, was part of that joyful Sunday. I think I’ll try to remember that as the year lumbers along.

Margaret Serious has a page on Facebook.

• OUR REAL LIVES ARE EVOLVING TO REACH + CREATE REALITY
• OUR REAL DEATHS ARE EVOLVING TO REACH OUR LIMITATIONS AND OUR KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT TO DO NEXT_TO GO BACK TO LIFE.
• LIFE CONTINUES TO SHOW US OUR FOREVER
• DEATH CONTINUES TO SHOW WHAT DOESN’T WORK AND WHAT TO ABANDON + LEAVE ALONE IN ORDER TO LIVE.

WAY BACK AT THE BEGINNING OF TIME OR THE GINNING OF THE BEGINNING THERE WAS A COUPLE JUST LEARNING TO THINK.

• SHE WAS AGGRESSIVE, PETULANT WITH RAVEN HAIR_ON HER WAY TO BE THE EXISTENCE OWNER’S WOMAN_A WORLDLY SECOND OTHER.
• HE WAS A YOUNG DARK BLOND BODY MAN WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF NETWORKED BODY THINGS. SEEING AN OPPORTUNITY OF GREAT MAGNITUDE HE COURTED HIS GRANDFATHER’S DATE.
• SHE FRESH FROM ATTENTION AND FREEDOM OF OBLIGATION, TOOK THE LESSER DATE.

THEY BRED VIOLENCE TO THE KINGDOM OF EXISTENCE FROM THE YOUNGER AND OLDER ENDS THEY KNEW:
• SEEING OPPORTUNITIES FOR HARRASSMEANT,
• HUNTING THE INHABITANTS OF THE KINGDOM,
• LEAVING THE OWNER ALONE AND
• SOMETIMES HARRASSING HIM.

THEY GREW A REPUTATION AS STRONG AS A TREE_ ROOTED TO DISTURB AND RULE THE GROUND_ BRANCHED OUT TO KNOW AND ASSIMULATE THE KNOWNG OF THE FOREVER SKY. THE TREE IS THEIR LEGACY OF BOTH A BEARER OF FRUIT LIKE THE FALL OF EDEN, AND THE BEARER OF QUIET TIME + SHADE TO ESCAPE THE HOT OVERWORKED SUN_WHILE THEY STILL COLLECT INFO.

THE KINGDOM ACQUIESCED TO THEIR WAY BECAUSE THEY TOLD IT TO. THEY HARVESTED ITS IMBALANCE IN THE FRUIT, ALONG WITH THEIR CRIMES_ DIRECT AND INDIRECT.

THE KINGDOM GREW LESS EMPOWERED, SLEEPY, AND SOUGHT TO SLEEP TO A BETTER FUTURE. THIS FUTURE WOULD BE DIFFERENT, HAPPY, ADVANCE MEANT. PEOPLE AND THINGS COULD + WOULD BE FRIENDLY, NICE, CONGENIAL, RETICENT____ NOT VIOLENT NOT ABUSIVE NOT IN LOVE WITH DEATH. IN LOVE OR GREAT LIKE WITH LIFE, WITH OPTIMISM READY TO LOVE AND BE LOVED.

THE KINGDOM BOTH WOKE AND SLEPT TO THIS TIME, BECAUSE ONCE YOU CAN CHOOSE YOU DON’T WANT TO ABANDON ALL OPTIONS ON ONE CHOICE. THEY INVESTED IN MANY LIFE+DEATH OPTIONS TO THE FUTURE AND SLEPT IF THEY COULD FIND SOMETHING ELSE. THOSE WHO INVESTED ARE TRYING TO MAKE THE OPTIONS WORK. THOSE WHO SLEPT AND DID NOT INVEST ARE TRYING TO RUIN THE INVESTMEANTS BECAUSE THE DREAMS OF THE OLD DESTROYING COUPLE MIX WITH THEIR AWARENESS. THEY ARE NOT THEM, BUT THEY THINK SO.

THOSE WHO SLEPT + INVESTED LESS NEED TO THINK OF A FUTURE THEY WOULD LIKE AND INVEST SELF-INTERESTEDLY, IN SYNC WITH WHAT THERE IS…. AND THE MOMENTUM TO GO FORWARD WILL RE-ENGAGE.

U.K. critic reviews the book and I think he liked it even if he was a bit harsh:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3468403486?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1