B.C. father and sons trio launch new trunk-sharing app, ‘Trunkit’

A father-sons trio is hoping their new trunk-sharing service will become the Airbnb of shipping.

Greg Smith and his teenage sons, Carter and Alex, are calling people to sign up for Trunkit, their new peer-to-peer shipping service.

“People in our province just can’t get stuff around, and we’re trying to let everybody know that, ‘Hey, your delivery needs can be solved,’” Greg says.

The app will help offset expenses for those that need to get stuff places and those that are already driving all over the place, paying $1.65 for fuel.”

In a nutshell, Trunkit is a new website and app where drivers can post trips they’re planning to take with an empty trunk. Other users who have something to ship can find a driver, pay and use a chat service to sort out the pickup and delivery details.

“There’ll be user reviews just like Airbnb, so people know who they are dealing with,” says Greg, who is a police officer in New Westminster.

Other optional levels of verification will include profiles with names, photos and driver’s licenses.

When it comes to pricing, Trunkit will calculate a suggested price based on the size of the item and vehicle, cost of gas and the number of kilometres. However, Smith says, drivers will also have the option to price their delivery services.

And, Trunkit will also facilitate payments.

“We hold the money until the trip is delivered, and then we pay,” explains Smith. “So there’s security for customers there.”

As for facilitating these things, Smith says Trunkit takes 15% of the agreed-upon price of the trip, and the driver gets the rest.

He says the idea came when his family was trying to move a couch from Vancouver to Vernon a couple years ago.

“The couch wasn’t worth much, so we needed to try and find a way to get it up there, and we couldn’t,” Smith says. “You’re not going to go Purolator or anywhere else where the service costs more than the value of the couch.”

Weeks later, Smith and his sons drove the couch up to Vernon themselves and couldn’t help but notice all of the empty trunks along the way.

“We thought, ‘There’s got to be a way to find out who is going this way,’” Smith says. “And, the idea was born.”

The app and website are now up and running.

The site has registered around 1000 users so far, many of which saw the posts from Smith in community Facebook groups for Osoyoos, Oliver and Penticton.

“Right now, Trunkit is great for delivering that couch that’s not worth a lot, a bag of clothes, or a box of gifts.” 

Smith says there are plans to expand across Canada and down into the U.S., but right now, they would like to focus on Squamish.

Squamish residents who travel to Vancouver can take things for others and save them a trip.

In just a few steps, you can be offsetting your travel costs by sharing your trunk space. 

Smith’s sons, Carter (18) and Alex (16), have accompanied Smith to virtually every meeting, from business lunches with website developers to contract negotiations with advertising executives.

“Part of this for me is to have my sons understand how to communicate professionally, go to meetings and interact in-person rather than just communicate via text. Both of them attend all the meetings and learn about the world of business first hand,” Smith adds.

“It was together that we came up with this, so we do it as a team. We’re all the founders, all three of us,” he adds. “Everything that I do, they do with me.”