GM’s Maven car-sharing service is exiting Baltimore

A car-sharing service from General Motors that debuted locally in 2017 will no longer be offered in Baltimore after next month.

Maven, which offers hourly or daily access to cars that can be reserved and unlocked via app, is winding down operations in the city, GM spokesperson Iman Jefferson said.

“After serious consideration, our Maven Car Sharing business in Baltimore including our peer-to-peer car sharing operations will no longer be available as of June 21,” Jefferson said. The news was first reported locally by Baltimore Fishbowl.

Maven Gig, a service which allows rideshare and delivery drivers to rent cars, will remain active, Jefferson said.

Launched in 2016, Maven arrived in Baltimore the next year amid an expansion push. The company saw the service as poised for growth in the city, as East Coast Manager Scott Hall saying at the time that it was a “logical extension” of efforts to tap into markets with more limited parking and people moving away from car ownership.

Along with providing the access to GM vehicles, the more recently introduced peer-to-peer service allowed any owner of a GM car to rent out a vehicle.

Now the service is exiting eight of the 17 cities where it’s currently operating, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. A separate report in Techcrunch said the service struggled with lackluster demand in some cities.

“This is part of a broader effort to concentrate Maven on future growth opportunities,” Jefferson said.

For car-sharing, other options in Baltimore include ZipCar and Turo.