Carsharing Services Blamed for Parking Issues on LA Streets

Peer-to-peer carsharing services like Getaround and Turo are making it difficult for LA residents to find parking spaces in their neighborhoods, according to a report by The Eastsider LA.

Using Getaround’s app, car owners rent their vehicles. Then renters can find the vehicles and unlock them through the app.

Recently, it appears that more Getaround vehicles are being brought onto LA streets, even vehicles with license plates from other states. One LA resident said that she saw half a dozen Getaround vehicles parked on her street. Her address was used as a drop-off point, even when she hadn’t signed up with Getaround.

“Parking in everyone’s neighborhood is already hard enough, and now people are profiting off of using up residential parking,” she told The Eastsider.

Some LA residents are asking the city to help with this parking issue, says the report.

“They are required to have business permits, or they can be issued a citation,” LAPD Officer Jesus Aispuro told The Eastsider. “The only problem for us is that I need to issue a citation to a person that is present. I have to enlist the assistance from our city attorney in order to locate the businessowners and mail them notices to comply with the city business requirements.”

Aispuro also mentioned that it’s illegal to rent cars from residential streets: “the city doesn’t normally issue permits that would allow a business to operate like Getaround in a residential area,” according to the report.

Getaround hasn’t responded to requests for comment but did send a message to LA resident Mark Anello. “Our owners can set their own home locations,” said Getaround. “We don’t set the locations in which these cars get parked.”