Protecting Yourself (and Your Ride) in a Pandemic World
By: Tower Auto Mall
Tags: Delivery, Coronavirus, Rideshare, Carshare, New York City

The Coronavirus is no joke. Few events have brought New York City to its knees like the quarantine.

Ironically, the problems caused by COVID-19 have also kick-started a booming third party delivery industry in which you belong. Carsharers have more work than ever, but does that also mean each point of contact poses a risk? What you want — need — to do is bring the odds down in your favor.

The best way to stay safe is to establish cleanliness protocols. These can be divided into three categories:

What you do for yourself What you do in the moment What you do for the future

Here’s how it works:

Take charge of your vehicle. With a car share, you are receiving a car from a rental or sharing community. A reputable company will ensure that cars are clean prior to rental, but you can play it safe by asking for a checklist of disinfection procedures performed. Always wear a mask in a car share; and bring extras in case your mask gets wet or damaged. Spray Lysol in the car and give it 15 minutes before you climb behind the wheel. Tip: Get a phone mount / cup holder and duct tape a bottle of hand sanitizer to it. That way you’ll have easy access.

Be mindful of microbes. Delivery is great because you’re driving products around instead of people. Unlike rideshare, however, you’re meeting people face-to-face and not social distancing while handing each other things. To avoid transferring the COVID virus, consider:

● Those spare masks will come in handy as you keep passing through heated and cold environments. Also, keep those Lysol sprays and disinfectant wipes at the ready and clean between each pick up and drop off.

● Even though the weather is getting cooler, you might want to use the seat warmers instead of in-car heating. Keep the air circulating in your car — even a slightly open window can help. Tip: Use heater bags for hot food delivery.

● Use rubber gloves or cling film when you’re pumping gas, and don’t forget to use hand sanitizer before you grab the wheel.

Pay it forward. As we mentioned, car sharing may mean multiple drivers. After making your money, you want to return a clean vehicle back to the next person or rental company. Keeping your mask on in the car and wiping down surfaces are both great protocols, but you can help in other ways:

● Put cling film or painter’s tape on the steering wheel while you’re driving, and remove it when you’re done. This not only keeps the wheel clean but saves wear and tear on the materials.

● Whenever possible, place plastic shields on seats and in the trunk, in case of leakage or heat damage from deliverables.

● Drive safely! There’s a lot of stopping and starting in third-party delivery. Fewer accidents will mean fewer insurance complications; it can also mean fewer heated arguments with other drivers that escalate into social distancing #fails.

Author: Kyle Freedman is a partner at Tower Auto Mall focused on building a rental platform for delivery and rideshare drivers in NYC and its metropolitan area (non-TLC rentals). He has brought insight and know-how from his background in marketing and technology to help facilitate low cost, long term vehicles solutions for drivers with bruised or virtually no credit. He has already helped hundreds of drivers in the greater NYC area find flexible and affordable vehicle rental solutions, including on platforms such as HyreCar.