If you can’t get behind the wheel of a Toyota Mirai at the Toyota dealers in Orange County, you could head north to Vancouver, Canada where Lyft Drivers are able to rent these fuel-efficient cars.
Perhaps you work as a driver for a ride-sharing app, or you moonlight as a driver in your free time? In any case, you should be aware that you can rent a car to use just when you are on duty rather than build mileage on your personal car. Toyota of Orange, the leading Toyota dealer in Orange County tells us that renting a car just to use as you drive for a ride-sharing app is nothing new, but the setup is getting some significant changes in Vancouver, Canada, which couldn’t have happened without the help of Toyota and Lyft. What is the essence of all this? Well, for $200 a week you can drive a hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai, and then you can hustle and bustle to make big profits.
Who Operates The Rent A Mirai Plan?
If you like giving people rides and getting paid for it, but you don’t like to use your own car or maybe because you don’t own a car, you can use a service called Kinto that can help you get behind the wheel of a Toyota for just $200 a week.
In the U.S., Kinto operates with Uber in Southern California and Fort Bend, Texas, but unfortunately, the Mirai is not part of the program there.
However, in Vancouver, Canada the Mirai is part of the plan that is being operated by Toyota’s Kinto Share program which is going to charge eligible Lyft drivers $198 plus fees and taxes for seven days in a Mirai.
How Does The Arrangement Work?
Orange County Toyota dealers inform us that the process is fairly straightforward. Drivers can reserve a Mirai for up to a month at a time, and Kinto covers the insurance and scheduled maintenance, but not the fuel, for the rental duration.
Also, you don’t get any keys to this rental, since you are going to gain access to the car through your smartphone and the Kinto Share app.
Furthermore, you have to go to a local Toyota dealership to pick up the car, and it is believed that the $200 a week cost is only valid till late summer. After that, the rates increase to $288 a week after August 1, 2021.
What Are The Benefits Of Driving A Mirai?
Buyers at Toyota dealers in Orange County want to know what they can gain when they drive a hydrogen-powered car such as the Mirai. In a nutshell, the advantages of driving a hydrogen-powered car are very much the same as a battery-electric vehicle because they both generate zero emissions. An H2 vehicle can be refilled in less than 10 minutes at hydrogen stations, and Lyft point outs there are three hydrogen stations in and around Vancouver. Lyft claims that around 20 percent of all of the vehicles that make up the Lyft platform in the Metro Vancouver region are either zero-emission or hybrids.
What Mirai Models Are Being Rented Out?
The Mirais available through the scheme are the first-generation models, especially from the 2019 model year. Admittedly, the second-generation which, in the U.S. for the most part, is only sold in California. Kinto calls attention in its FAQ that the 2019 Mirai does not support Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. however, where do they get refueled, Fortunately, Lyft was kind enough to supply the addresses of three hydrogen refueling stations that are operating in Metro Vancouver.
Will Kinto Expand Its Mirai Service To The U.S.?
Kinto hasn’t said yes or no to a possible expansion of the Mirai service to the U.S. If they do decide on growing this survive in America, the Mirai would only work in the Los Angeles or San Francisco areas because there is a substantial hydrogen refueling infrastructure that already exists in these locations.
At the moment Kinto operates in two U.S. locations within Southern California and Fort bend, Texas where it offers “weekly, daily, & hourly car rentals for Uber, delivery, & personal use.” In the U.S., Kinto has several Toyota vehicles available, including hybrids, starting at a cost of $5.50 an hour or $215 a week, plus taxes.
How Does Toyota Benefit From Kinto’s Plans?
For Toyota, these plans provide the Japanese car company the opportunity to introduce consumers to vehicles powered by hydrogen. Although hydrogen-powered vehicles have long been called the “cars of the future”, they have not caught on in popularity at the same rapid pace as battery electric vehicles.
“Everybody who sits in the back seat of [a Mirai] is going to be able to learn a little bit more about hydrogen technology. There’s no way that we could do that on our own,” said Stephen Beatty, Toyota Canada’s vice president, corporate.
Beatty considers the Lyft partnership evidence of a concept and went on to say that Toyota believed it was a good way to test how the vehicles performed before even thinking about nationwide expansions.
It was only six years ago that Toyota unveiled the Mirai, but by the end of September had only sold 11,100 vehicles, with consumers worried about the lack of fueling stations and resale values.
In December, Toyota launched a revamped version with a wider range of 500 kilometers.
British Columbia has four hydrogen stations, and three of them are in Vancouver, according to HTEC Hydrogen Technology and Energy Corporation, which operates the stations and said that refueling takes around five minutes.
Hydrogen vehicles’ shorter fuelling time and longer ranges make them a more practical option for ride-hail drivers than battery electric vehicles, Lukomskyj and Beatty said.
At the end of last year, Canada revealed a hydrogen increasing strategy aimed at increasing growth in the clean fuel sector and created a $1.5 billion investment fund for low-carbon fuels.
At the moment, Lyft operates in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland and in some cities in the Toronto and Ottawa region.