AS working Malaysians continue to struggle under the economic pressures of a lockdown economy, any source of additional income would be welcome.
Despite the inroads e-hailing has made into people’s everyday lives, private car ownership remains a necessity for many Malaysians. But car payments are another burden for those with already tightening budgets.
In many households, there are likely idle cars during weekends as family members spend time together at home or on the road, or carpool with friends on outings.
Trevo, a car sharing service, offers a unique way to earn extra income and address all these issues.
Self-described as a people-to-people (P2P) car sharing marketplace, Trevo offers a business model that empowers car owners to list their cars to generate extra income.
Just like how people would rent out an empty room to generate extra income – whether to a long-term tenant or listing it on a sharing platform – the sharing economy now extends to renting out private vehicles.
In an echo of that notion, the person offering their car is known as a Host, while the one receiving the vehicle is a Guest.
Two Hosts, Panneerselvam Periakaruppan and Hazrinisam Za’adun offer their testimonials on Trevo’s efficacy.
“When I was enquiring about being a Host on Trevo, their team was tremendously helpful.
“The customer service team was very responsive and they gave good guidance overall. This was one of the deciding factors why I was motivated to start sharing more cars on the platform,” said Panneerselvam, 29.
Both he and Hazrinisam originally learned about Trevo via Facebook, before visiting the office and attending an online onboarding session, respectively.
Panneerselvam, a restaurant owner, started off on Trevo by sharing his Perodua Alza to test the waters, and was amazed with the outcome as within 10 days, he was able to earn the amount needed to pay off his monthly loan.
Now, he has seven cars listed on Trevo, including models such as Honda City, Proton Persona, Perodua Aruz and Perodua Axia, in addition to the Perodua Alza.
He has since managed to convince his siblings to share their cars as a way to earn extra income to offset some of their monthly commitments.
“It was not an easy process to convince them as they had concerns, which is understandable as a car owner.
“I continuously shared my experience and explained how all Hosts on the platform can opt for Trevo Shield,” he added.
Under Trevo, the Host’s car is covered by liability protection of up to RM3 million.
Trevo also assists with the delivery of the car to the Guest and returns the car to the Host, which is especially helpful to users who are busy with other responsibilities.
For Hazrinisam, within the first month of putting his car up for booking on the platform, Hazrinisam managed to secure a one-month booking for his Honda Civic Hybrid.
“It was unexpected! I saw car sharing as just another way for me to earn extra income to support my family but the opportunity it presented was beyond my expectations.
“My monthly car loan amounts to RM1,200, and the income generated from my first car booking was roughly more than RM900,” he shared.
Like Panneerselvam, Hazrinisam has a number of unused or under-utilised cars that Trevo allows him to benefit from.
“I felt it was better to generate some extra income from the car. Trust is the deciding factor, when it comes to whether you want to share your car with other people, who might need it more than you at times, if you think about it,” he said.
Panneerselvam currently records average bookings of two weeks duration during the pandemic, and finds that Guests are interested to book his cars because they are well-maintained.
“To those who would like to try sharing their cars - first, learn and read about car sharing. Be responsible and fully understand what it means to share your car with other people.
“When you finally decide to go for it, make the Guest your priority. You need to believe that it will work out,” Panneer advised in closing. – The Vibes, November 20, 2020
