How To: Escape The City In Search of A Wave

“In The City” belted out Paul Weller in The Jam’s debut single, “there’s a thousand things I wanna say to you.”

Perhaps at the top of the Modfather’s thou-strong list on a hot day was, “Let’s hit the coast already!”

So you’re in town, passive toking the big smoke. Whether it be for work, for play, foreplay… maybe you just happen to live there.

For whatever reason, life choices, simple twists of fate, you find yourself in the urban jungle and in need of a timely coastal escape.

We think we’ve found the answer to getting there – peer-to-peer car rental with Turo.

Being Britain, the coast is never that far away. You just need a quick, easy affordable way of getting there.

You’ve checked the swell and weather forecasts… now you just need transport.

‘But what is the best way of getting to the coast’ you ponder?

You can’t get The Tube to get tubed. How are you and your crew, or perhaps just you, gonna find saltwater redemption, on the double? Let us examine some of the options.

Train

The choo choo is probably the most civilised way to travel, but yikes! Pricey! Plus, Great Western recently kooked it hard and banned surfboards. Alas, in 2019 oppression of the stoke tribes is apparently still a thing.

Big Metal Bird in the Sky

Yeah? Nah. In theory you could fly to Newquay from Heathrow… but really, is that a very eco-woke thing to be doing in this day and age? Puking carbon into the stratosphere just to surf Watergate? Seems a little overkill. Plus, by the time you’ve gone to T2, checked, in etc, you’re not really saving time anyway.

Drive Your own

If you do live in the city, do you really want/need a car sitting in the street? Can you afford it? The one plus of urban life is the public transport, in which case, do you really want to be paying road tax/insurance/maintenance/parking etc while it sits there rusting and being coveted by villains? According to our accounts department, the running costs of an average car – not even including buying it – are equivalent to a new surfboard every 2-3 months. That’s a new 5 board quiver every year! No further questions your honour.

Traditional Car Rental Companies
Renting a car can get pricey. Do you get the fully comp? Are they gonna charge you in advance for a tank of petty? Double if you don’t fill her all the way up? What if you don’t get the full waiver and then someone dings it when you’re not looking? What about lining up in the arrivals terminal waiting to be processed? Alas, renting a car from the big companies can be fraught with anxiety.

Peer to Peer Car Share with Turo

Now we’re getting somewhere. The plus of driving your own car, without the hassles. You rent a car that is owned by someone just like you. Jump on the app, find one nearby. Prices up to 35% less than traditional hire care companies, and there’s no waiting in line at the airport, no hassle.

“I was blown away by how much better the Turo experience was in comparison to traditional rental car options”

Right now, Wavelength readers can get an exclusive discount using the code WAVELENGTH25.

The peer to peer economy makes life easier and provides better value for the customer, but also puts a bit of dough back into the little guy/gal, and away from the man. Wanna increase Avertz board of directors’ dividends? Or prefer to keep it in the local economy? You can rent boards with AwayCo, find digs with Airbnb etc, and now you can rent a car with Turo.

The average car sits idle 95% of the time. Turo’s mission is to put the world’s one billion cars to better use, changing the economics of car ownership  

WL’s very own Guy Hayler went to Hawaii last winter to challenge himself in the ultimate arena of violent surf, and stare down his own mortality. He wanted to face his fears, but he didn’t want transportation hassles en route from Town to Country. Here’s what went down:

“Having a car in Hawaii is a must and island hopping meant jumping from rental to rental so I took it upon myself to test a few options. Upon landing in Maui, not knowing about Turo, we went down the traditional route of renting from a desk at the airport and left in a car that we thought we must now own after paying for so many forced extras (the rip off took place after a solid hours queuing). We then found Turo, which was well advertised and talked about across the islands, and gave it a go when we landed back in Oahu.

“The average car sits idle 95% of the time. Turo’s mission is to put the world’s one billion cars to better use, changing the economics of car ownership” 

The experience was much more honest and clear. Instead of working with a big corporate I was dealing direct with a local chap who was keener to tell me about where to go explore than how to start his car. We chatted on the app, agreed a pick up at the airport and then met for the handover. The cost was transparent and done on a day rate and all the insurance and normal small print extras were included and clear. Even when driving the car I felt more of a responsibility to make sure it was as good if not better on return. I was blown away by how much better the experience was in comparison to traditional rental car options.

Wherever possible I will go down this peer to peer route with Turo, it’s a game changer.”

As good as Guy’s trip sounds, these days you don’t need to go all the way to the 808 state (or any of the 49 others) to try Turo, they’re in Great Britain.

Turo: How it works

For guests:
• Guests choose from a unique selection of nearby cars, from a Mercedes-Benz or Tesla for a luxurious weekend away to a city-friendly MINI or a rugged Rav4, while hosts earn extra money to offset the costs of car ownership
• On Turo, you are fully covered by insurance partner, Allianz
• Users can typically book cars for 35% less compared to a traditional rental company

For hosts:
• The average Turo host earns £400/month
• All Turo guests are pre-screened
• Your car is covered with £20 million in liability insurance provided by Allianz
• You set your own prices and control your availability