In Alabama, new rules of the road lead to entrepreneurship and education
In 2023, Hoover, Alabama native Anthony Jackson was working from home one morning when he glanced out his window, saw his 2018 Toyota RAV4 sitting idly in his driveway, and asked it, “What are you doing to help pay the bills around here?”
With Anthony hoping for a new job and his wife hoping for a new house, another stream of income would go a long way. His car simply wasn't pulling its weight.
Around the same time in Mobile, Alabama, Anita Walker was busy running her nail salon, while looking for opportunities to generate the capital she needed to afford a new space as fantastic as her Fantastic Nailz Salon.
Recently divorced, she needed a secondary business solution that would give her the flexibility to be a full-time entrepreneur and a full-time mom.
Anthony and Anita both soon found Turo, and three years later, their car sharing businesses have put them on new roads to success.
Once Anthony put his first car on Turo’s peer-to-peer marketplace and saw immediate bookings, he steadily grew his Turo fleet to seven cars. He’s now bringing in enough income to operate his Turo business full-time (from the comfort of his and his wife’s new home, he’s pleased to say).
For Anita, hosting on Turo has given her the income to continue to pay for her daughter’s private school tuition and after-school tutoring, all while continuing to set money aside for her dream salon space.
But even more importantly than money, Anthony and Anita both say hosting on Turo has given them invaluable flexibility in their daily lives.
Anthony's nephew, who has special learning needs, attends two different schools each day. With Anthony’s sister working an in-office job during the day, he’s able to drive his nephew between schools every afternoon and even get him to soccer practice on time afterwards to boot.
Meanwhile, Anita is able to show up for all the moments–big and small–that make up motherhood. For her, that means dropping her daughter off with words of wisdom before school exams, and then picking her up afterward for memory-making mother-daughter getaways, like cabin weekends in the mountains of Gatlinburg, Tennessee or daytrips to the Alabama Gulf Shores.
These success stories are why Anthony and Anita were both thrilled when Alabama lawmakers passed legislation in February 2026 to codify the state’s rules of the road for peer-to-peer car sharing.
By joining 30 states in passing legislation that clarifies and standardizes key areas of peer-to-peer car sharing operations like insurance requirements, tax classifications, and consumer protections, Alabama has paved the way for Alabamians to take full advantage of the car sharing economy.
Hosts like Anita and Anthony can now start and grow their Turo businesses with confidence that laws and regulations won’t change unexpectedly or be engineered by corporate rental car competitors to run them off the road. And for their future guests, well-regulated marketplaces are essential to driving growth in burgeoning industries by giving consumers confidence they are taking part in safe, transparent transactions.
As bill sponsor, Rep. Chris Elliott, said, “Peer-to-peer car sharing provides Alabamians with new ways to generate income, provide for their families, and cope with the costs of everyday living… This bill spells out the basic guidelines and provides the protections that open the door to this money-making opportunity.”
For Anthony, the legislation means a more secure future for his family, saying, “I’m thankful for Turo and for this bill for allowing me to take care of my family. It’s not easy, it’s hard work, but Turo lessens the risk of starting your own business while allowing you to make great money.”
And for Anita, the legislation means more freedom to be an entrepreneur.
“Whereas other peer-to-peer industries have seen lots of regulatory threats, now that this legislation has passed, it makes me feel safer to expand my Turo business,” Anita said.
She continued, “Turo has shown me I can do more than I ever thought I could.”