Awto - the first car sharing of Argentina

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    Today I spotted a rental with the text AWTO in catchy light blue on the side, and I looked it up on google. I found out it is a car sharing - the first I know we've had in Buenos Aires.


    You need a DNI and a local DL to be able to use it.

    Just download the Awto app (available for both Android and iOS) or visit https://awto.com.ar/, fill in your details, take a picture of the front and back of both your DNI and DL, take a selfie holding your DNI to validate your identity.

    Once your account has been set up, you can pick either a compact vehicle, a premium vehicle or a cargo vehicle. There are per-minute fees both driving and parking, and a flat daily fee (from $3000 upward, i.e. 40 USD at the current blue rate).


    You will need the app to unlock the car, so even if you can reserve your vehicle from your computer, make sure you've downloaded the app.



    You can pay as you go with Mercadopago (using a card) or pre-pay with PayPal.



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    • Official Post
    Quote from Rice

    Wow! BsAs is flirting with moving into the 21st century!

    Seems so! But will it last, or is going to be a fad like electric scooters? One player already retired from the market and we’re down to 2 or 3 companies right now.


    I remember in Rome they tried this model of car sharing and the people were stealing their brand new Pirelli tires and exchanging them for worn out ones.


    Draw your conclusions...



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Are you suggesting that Argentines’ Italian heritage might come shining through, serafina ?


    I have to admit that when I read your original post, the thought of the recent scooter fiasco did cross my mind. But car sharing is an industry that sprang from a consumer need, whereas scooter rental is a manufactured need -

    • Official Post
    Quote from Splinter

    My understanding of car sharing has always been a network of people sharing seats in a car, so that the car didn't go on a journey practically empty. But this is completely different and I can't see someone here paying AR$3000 per day.

    You are mixing up car pooling with car sharing.

    Car pooling is when I own a car and share the ride with other random people.

    Car sharing is when a company owns a car, and it's available for time share to random people.


    For carpooling, in Argentina there is Carpoolear. I used to check their FB page (where they repost available rides) and the most common issues are:

    1. Argentines do not plan much in advance, so posting "I am leaving tomorrow for Salta from Córdoba" is barely useful because someone doing that sort of ride, usually plans it in advance.
    2. To Argentines, "se le complica mucho", so many rides are cancelled last second, or the seating availability is not updated. Meaning that people count on a ride that is not available and are left in a difficult position because there are no other options as quick as a car ride to get somewhere.
    3. Argentines are not great at meeting schedules, so there are a lot of complaints of people being late (both drivers and passengers)
    4. Argentines are all populist unless they can make a profit. Most complaints were about people charging for the service instead of charging just for the cost associated with the ride. The spirit of carpooling is sharing and saving money, not making a profit. The spirit of community was almost ZERO on Carpoolear. The excuse was "there are costs covering the wear and tear of the car".
    5. Argentines do not like to pay and several people said they couldn't chip in for the ride costs (gasoline and tolls) but they were contributing "con mate y buena onda". Thanks, but no thanks.