An Open Letter to My Getaround User

Ep 33 Original MTV VJ Martha Quinn Disruptive Technology

An Open Letter to My Getaround User

Hi buddy! You don’t know me, but we’re connected thanks to this newfangled car-sharing service called Getaround. I was intrigued by the description of “peer-to-peer car sharing” which basically means an AirBnB for cars, or Uber where the passenger drives – bottom line, you pay me to borrow my car when I’m not using it. So I wanted to leave a letter to whomever is currently in possession of my station wagon and its college decals.

First, I want to apologize for the breadcrumbs everywhere in this vehicle. I do a lot of driving my family members around, to school, to ballet, to the bus stop, and I’m a fan of carbs. Do the math. Try to think of it like I do: if there’s an earthquake while you’ve got the car, you have a food supply for 3-4 days, which is what the experts recommend!

Speaking of earthquakes, you’ll notice a plethora of grocery bags in the way back of the car. I used to keep a go-bag of earthquake supplies back there, but with car break-ins so prevalent in the Bay Area, my husband worried it would cause people to smash the back window (Again. If you open and close the back hatch, you’ll hear the melodic tinkling of glass that’s lodged inside the door from the last smash and grab. It’s festive!) So now all that’s left is the pile of grotty reusable grocery bags which, I suppose, you could use your shoelaces to stitch into a shelter if the Big One hits when you have my car. Good luck.

About the radio presets: they’re an efficient summary of my entire family. Alternative music, old school hip hop, Willie Nelson’s Roadhouse, and Bruce Springsteen. You’re welcome.

Can you do me a solid while you’ve got the car? Pick up the dry cleaning? I’m about minimizing gas use through consolidating errands so, really, you wouldn’t be doing it for me. You’d be doing it for the planet.

Also, we are out of milk. I like the kind organic fat-free kind they sell at Safeway. And you may as well get another six-pack of Lagunitas while you’re there. It’s not like the political scene is getting any better.

You know what? There’s been a service light that keeps coming on in the car, along with a message that says, “Schedule Service? Yes, No, Postpone.” I’ve been punching that “postpone” option like it’s a treat dispenser and I’m a trained monkey. Can you just do me a little favor and hit “yes” to see what happens? You might have to take it in for the 25k maintenance, but they have free coffee there. Thanks, you’re the best.

Did I leave my sunglasses is the middle console? I need them. Can you just pop them into my mailbox and honk twice so I know they’re there?

If you’re reading this on the second or fourth Wednesday of the month, that means it’s our day to get the veggie box from the CSA. I’ll put the pickup address at the bottom of the letter. Super easy – just parallel park on the narrowest residential street in Oakland, the one where homeowners are doing construction projects 110% of the time so there are always, always white trucks and bulldozers and sometimes even cement mixers making the street even narrower. But the chard is SO fresh. Feel free to take a leaf!

Ok, I think that’s all the background you’ll need for using the Kho-mobile to take your girlfriend to the beach to propose, or to meet your friends at a music festival, or any of the other jaunty use cases the Getaround billboards portray. Have fun! Make proud choices!

But seriously – Safeway, dry cleaner, and Volvo dealership first.

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One of my all time favorite driving songs: I Think She Likes Me by Treat Her Right. The drummer here is the very same Billy Conway who singer/songwriter Jeffrey Foucault mentions in Midlife Mixtape Podcast Episode 32…

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