So you’re traveling to Los Angeles, or you live here and are carless. Not to worry! Here we share a ton of methods on how to borrow cars, get easy rides, or pedal yourself for cheap or free!
You Drive (non traditional car rentals)
Los Angeles has a few fantastic ways to rent cars that are extremely cheap, or even free.
Turo
Turo is our personal favorite way to get around Los Angeles if you don’t own a car. It’s like Airbnb but for cars—meaning you can rent cars from regular people around town. Prices can be as low as $15 per day, with discounts if you rent weekly or monthly. You can also try out some really fun cars this way—like a Tesla, convertible mini, or a pickup truck.
Visit Turo.com for more information.
WaiveCar
This is a FREE service that allows you to rent a car for up to 2 hours at a time. The cars are electric and are covered in ads (thus why they are free).
However, there are some pretty severe restrictions. For one, during peak times you can’t find any available cars. You also might have to travel a little bit to get to a car you’ve reserved—but you can’t book it earlier than 15 minutes in advance. You cannot drive it beyond an allowed zone, and it must be parked back in Santa Monica at the end your two hours. The cars are electric, and if they dip below a certain power level, you must park them at a charging station at the end.
Visit WaiveCar.com for more information.
GetAround
GetAround is a lot like Turo, where you can rent cars from regular ole people around the city. However, we haven’t used it as much so can’t be as glowing. But we CAN give you $20 off to try it out.
Visit GetAround.com to get your $20 credit.
⇒PRO TIP⇐
Instead of filling up your gas at the gas station (like a chump!), download and use the Purple App. They’ll hand-deliver gas to your car, wherever it is parked (available through most of LA).
Visit PurpleApp.com and use code B4TFZ for 2 free gallons.
They Drive (Rideshare and Cab Options)
Most ride sharing service operate in Los Angeles, and all of them have pretty killer first-timer discounts.
Lyft
Our favorite rideshare service is definitely Lyft—we’ve found they have the friendliest drivers in LA. They used to have longer wait times than Uber, but not any longer!
Visit Lyft.com and use code TOP50 for a discount!
Uber
The classic rideshare service that will get you picked up within minutes, wherever and whenever you are in the city. Hint: Usually you are expected to sit in the back seats.
Visit Uber.com and use code UBERHOTVALUE for a discount.
Curb Taxi
If you like the good old fashioned taxi service, download and try out the Curb App. It lets you book a future ride (starting at 15 minutes from now) through any of the taxi companies in Los Angeles.
Visit GoCurb.com and use code 58t73d for $5 off your first ride!
Bikes
Unique and modern ways to rent a bike, for cheap.
Spinlister
Think: The Airbnb of bike rentals. Easily find a bike to rent from a neighboring house and rent it by the hour, day or week.
Bonus: You can also rent surf boards, paddle boards, snowboards, and skis through this site.
Visit Spinlister.com to get a $5 credit!
Peerby
Peerby isn’t just a bicycle rental site—it lets you borrow nearly anything (think hammocks, tents, disco balls, etc). But one of those things is bicycles! And better yet…it’s completely FREE. However, it’s a bit hard to ensure you’ll be able to borrow the thing you’re asking for.
Visit Peerby.com to post a borrowing request!
Social Bicycles
This app shows you bicycle locations around the city. With an hourly, daily or monthly (super cheap) payment, you can rent bikes from one location and return them somewhere entirely different. Right now it’s only $99/year, or $25/month.
Visit SocialBicycles.com to learn more.
We hope we helped in your search for getting around in Los Angeles without a car. If you have another method we haven’t thought of, please share it in the comments!
