Here’s an interesting report a couple of days ago by KITV’s Diane Ako about parking problems created by a Turo operator on Waialae Nui ridge with a dozen cars, many of which have been parked on nearby streets (“East Honolulu neighborhood complains Turo host’s cars are hogging street parking”).
I’ve been watching recent posts on NextDoor reporting on a similar but larger operation in Kaimuki allegedly involving about 40 cars parked on residential streets.
This is not a new problem, as news reports of other cases go back at least a couple of years.
Two things of note in the KITV report.
First, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Planning Permitting said commercial vehicles must be parked on the owner’s property and are not allowed to be parked on public streets.
“If someone has a complaint, they may call DPP’s building division at 808-768-8259,” Ako reported.
Second, a Turo spokesperson said the company has a system in place to resolve these issues.
“Turo has a newly implemented and robust system in place to address parking complaints promptly and take strict actions against violators. We are investigating the aforementioned host and will follow-up accordingly with complainants who submit evidence via Turo’s dedicated neighbor support webpage,” said spokesperson Catherine Mejia, also addressing this particular street. “Once Turo found out about the complaint, Turo immediately initiated policy protocol and the Host moved the cars within less than a day.”
Use this link to report parking issues created by a Turo host.
I’ve heard rumors that there is at least one company with a large fleet of cars rented via Turo, although I haven’t been able to sustantiate the claim.
The owner of the Waialae Nui operation reportedly delivers his cars to customers at Honolulu Zoo. The Kaimuki operator, who has an office nearby, has customers pick up the cars where they are parked on residential streets.
It has me wondering what other kinds of problems have surfaced with Turo, and how widespread these Turo problems are. Are these cars covered by commercial insurance? Have customers reported problems with insurance coverage in case of accidental damage?
See:
”Turo Hits Huge Headwinds in Hawaii: Renters Beware,” Beat of Hawaii, July 13, 2022
“City cracks down on peer-to-peer car rentals clogging residential neighborhoods,” Hawaii News Now, July 30, 2021
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Tourism was the leading word in that KITV story. Parking problems in up on the Ridge are just another indication that Hawaii needs more than tourism. The idea of ecological & cultural sensitivity tourism is suspect. You can ask visitors to pay more money but that doesn’t mean the revenue will be used in the interest of the Island’s culture & ecosystem. People need to think about how to diversify the economy, move away from tourism.