Peer-to-peer car-sharing service battles to expand at North Texas airport

A company called Turo is a peer-to-peer car-sharing platform. Through an app or website people can rent out their car or find a car to rent. Now there is a battle between Turo and DFW International Airport for people to be able to rent Turo cars there.

A judge is set to hold a hearing on the issue on Dec. 2.

Turo host Betson Mathew has six different cars in his fleet to choose from.

He decided to give it a try a couple of years ago with just one car.

"Decided to put the car on it for the weekend and started doing really well so we bought a couple more cars and added on to the fleet and it was just a good fit for my wife and I to supplement our income," Turo host Betson Mathew said.

He added his customers like the fact they get what they see.

"It's a lot more personalized because a lot of times the vehicle you are renting is and the person you are talking to is the owner of the vehicle, so the communication is a lot more personalized," Mathew said.

Turo is not a new company.

"We've been around for more than 10 years and it's a way for local residents to share their car with a neighbor or visitor," Turo spokesperson Catherine Mejia said.

Mejia added its hosts have many reasons for signing up.

"We have hosts who do this just to make ends meet or to supplement paying bills or even just to pay off their car note itself,” Mejia said. “It's just a way to pay off your car note. And we have other hosts who do this as a small business."

However, this business venture has been challenged by DFW International Airport.

"We are hitting a roadblock at Dallas Fort Worth airport where we have entered into this litigation where a lawsuit was filed against Turo and some of our hosts who are local residents by the airport there," Mejia said.

DFW Airport declined to comment because of the pending litigation.

But in court documents filed in Tarrant County the DFW Airport board states, "there is no legal right for non-aeronautical operators to conduct commercial activities at the airport unless they have a contract with the board."

It goes on to say, "Because Turo is conducting such commercial activity at the airport without "a permit, license, lease or other agreement with the airport board," Turo itself is in violation of the code."

Some hosts parked cars in airport garages or exchanges of vehicles curbside.

The airport wants Turo to operate like the rental car companies utilizing the Central Car Rental Facility and paying fees.

Turo argues they are not like a regular rental car company.

"We don't have a rental car counter,” Mejia said. “We don't have employees that we staff at a rental car counter. We don't have large fleets. Turo actually doesn't own any vehicles. It's our individual hosts and residents of Dallas Fort Worth area that who own their own vehicles and maintain them."

A professor of Transportation Engineering weighed in on the issue.

"Airports in particular rely heavily on parking fees and they spend a lot of money on those parking structures," University of Texas Austin professor of Transportation Engineering Kara Kockelman said.

She understood why some businesses would have issues with the peer-to-peer car-sharing service.

"The big concern for airports or other public, or quasi-public, entities is are these new ways of doing things getting a free ride," Kockelman said.

Hosts like Mathew are hoping the two sides can come to an agreement that will give him more airport options for renting out his cars.

"Absolutely because DFW as you know is much bigger than Love Field and International Airport,” Mathew said. “There is way more people that come into DFW compared to Love Field."

If there is no agreement or ruling the judge could send this to a jury trial in April of next year.