CityHop - any experiences?

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invisibleman18

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#299481 12-Sep-2022 08:27

Any recent experiences of using CityHop? In particular interested in their vans. Are there any hidden charges/pitfalls that aren't immediately obvious? Are the vehicles actually where they say they are when you go to pick them up or can someone swoop in at the last minute and take it even though you have booked? Also wondering if there's a chance you end up getting blamed for damage that was already there if you have no inspection with someone like a regular rental car.

I have a couple of large items (old furniture) I need to try and get to the tip but with only a small car that doesn't have a tow bar it's difficult to try and arrange transporting things of this size. I thought I'd have to hire a van or truck for the day which would be an expensive way of doing probably less than a 1 hour job. Just come across CityHop and I see they have vans available to hire by the hour close to where I live (Lower Hutt), so booking one for 1 or 2 hours could be the best option. Just wondering if anyone has recent experience with them.

kiwiharry

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#2965967 12-Sep-2022 08:36

I hired one for the first time earlier this year.

Charges were all outlined during the booking process so I knew what I was expected to pay.

Van was immediately adjacent to where I expected it. A member of public was parked in the CtyHop space when I went to collect the vehicle so it was parked about 3 spaces over.

The electronic card you get unlocks the vehicle so I don't think anybody else can grab/book your vehicle once you've booked it.

My van had some damage so I just took plenty of photos before I jumped in the van.

Fuel card was inside vehicle as expected.

Aside from physical condition of vehicle all else went well.

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Stu

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#2965970 12-Sep-2022 09:06

@nate keeps singing their praises.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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Scott3

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#2966030 12-Sep-2022 09:43

Used them extensively a decade ago. (was living in the CBD and decided not to replace a car that got written off in a crash, given there was a cityhop car in the same carpark building I was paying $3600 a year for a space...).

At that stage they didn't have van's, just cheap hatchbacks (Mitsubishi i-car & Daihatsu sirion).

In general, system worked well.

If you book a car, it is reserved for you. There is some risk that a person before you could fail to return it on time, but that risk is fairly low. (penalties etc, for returning late without extending your booking).

Only once did I have an issue with getting a car. A while back, but I think it was some issue with my booking not being able to be pushed to the car, so it would not unlock for my RFID card. They ended up moving my booking to another car 10mins walk away. So just inconvenient.

At the time bookings could only be made in business hours which was a bit annoying. Hopefully they have automated that system by now.

I think they have added the ability to remote unlock, based on the van's in hardware store parking lots, and advertising that you can drive one away in XX minuets.

wellygary

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#2966036 12-Sep-2022 10:01

Have used them a couple of times over the last few years ( moving sofa's washing machines etc)

Its pretty much as it says on the box, book online, go get van, do job return van,

The only small point is they bill twice, you pay the upfront hire charge first up, and then later in the month you get the "per kilometre" charge,

But I would certainly use them again , its hugely easier than hiring and towing a trailer around town..

invisibleman18

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#2966040 12-Sep-2022 10:11

Great, thanks for the quick responses. Can't hire a trailer as I don't have a tow bar on my car and I wasn't keen on paying for a van/truck for a whole day just to do one trip to the tip so looks like this is the way to go for this job. I'd forgotten but it turns out I already have a login - I think I tried signing up when I was in Auckland for a day without a car a while back but as it took time to verify the account and I didn't have a key card I just got an Uber. So looks like I'll just need to pop down to Mitre 10 where the vans are to get a card before I book.

nate

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#2966192 12-Sep-2022 15:47

I use CityHop all the time and they are a brilliant service. I often use the small run around cars to get from the odd meeting I need to go to. I've used the vans a few times to take stuff to the e-recyclers.

If you pickup a car and notice damage, take photos and email it to them. Oftentimes, someone before you has already reported damage so you're fine. I've never been charged for pre-existing damage.

Whenever I've booked a car, and tried to pickup, it's always been there. I've never had someone else take a car that I have booked.

The only problem I had once was in Wellington (I'm Auckland based) and I couldn't get their fuel card to work. I hadn't read the instructions properly, which say, for you to pay for gas, take a photo of the receipt and email it to them. I did this, and was reimbursed a few days later.

It's a great service for someone who needs a car now and then (I don't own a car as I mainly work from home), and you don't want to have to worry about parking, insurance, registration, WOFs, etc etc.

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invisibleman18

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#2966195 12-Sep-2022 15:50

Awesome thanks for the feedback. Definitely looks like this is going to be the easiest and most cost effective way of doing what I need.

invisibleman18

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#2969862 18-Sep-2022 19:28

Just to update, I used this today with no issues. Had 2 old couches and an armchair to get rid of so booked a Cityhop van for an hour and half this morning to get them to the tip. Easy to pick it up and plenty of room in the back on the van. Put a few smaller things in too and still had room for more.

The van had a quarter of a tank of fuel left at the start which is what you are supposed to leave it with and the fuel card was missing so topped it up at the end and email them a copy of the receipt to be reimbursed. Easiest thing would be if they take that off whatever we still owe for the per km charge.

Overall easy and really convenient to use. Will definitely use again next time we need to transport something large. The hour and a half ended up being slightly longer than we needed it although we were just over an hour so was best to book slightly longer than end up with another charge for getting back late.