Cities need to 'dissuade' people from owning cars: GoCar

Vincent Wall, moderator; with Dr Cara Augustenburg; Sheila Struyck; Owen Keegan; Anne Graham; and Colm Brady at The Future of Multimodal Transport.

The freedom of owning a car has been 'offset' down the years by 'too many cars, and pollution', according to the new MD of the GoCar car sharing company in Ireland, writes Brian Byrne.

And Colm Brady says that cities need to embrace the concept of 'dissuading' people from owning cars and thus help reduce car ownership.

He was speaking at an event in Dublin to mark the company's 10th anniversary, The Future of Multimodal Transport.

Mr Brady has replaced Colm Menton, who has retired, at the helm of GoCar and Europcar Mobility Group Ireland.

There are now more than 450 GoCar vehicles in service in Ireland, and by the end of next year the company expects to increase that to 1,000. In addition to private driver usage, GoCar now offers a corporate car pool scheme.

At the event in the Wood Quay Centre, Colm Brady noted that the the number of people using the service has grown to over 30,000 nationally, and that this would reach 100,000 in a year.

"GoCar is now operating in 18 counties and we have seen a 600pc increase in journeys using our vehicles over the last three years," he told those attending, adding that a recent initiative that allows users of Leap cars to access the fleet 'was a game-changer'.

He also outlined the adoption of electric vehicles by the company, with the support of BMW and Renault, which resulted in 1,700 electric car journeys over the last two years.

Asked if he thought it would be difficult to 'wean' the private owner away from owning a car, he said he didn't think so, because people were beginning to realise the real cost. "The figures are there, produced by the AA. The more we talk about it, the more people will think about how much their car is costing them. Increasingly, if people are thinking of changing their car, they might consider whether car sharing is the way to go for them?"

He also noted that local authorities are now ready to change their planning regulations to include car sharing as part of their town and city plans. "One effect of this will be a lesser need for car space," he said.

The event featured a keynote speech from Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross TD, followed by a panel discussion involving Dr Cara Augustenburg, Lecturer in Environmental Policy in UCD; Colm Brady, MD of GoCar & Europcar Mobility Group Ireland; Anne Graham of the NTA; Owen Keegan, Chief Executive of Dublin City Council; and Sheila Struyck, MD of the Business Unit, Europcar Mobility Group.

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Public 'need to be educated' on transport options: NTA

Owen Keegan, Anne Graham, Colm Brady, Dr Cara Augustenburg, Sheila Struyck, and moderator Vincent Wall, at the GoCar event.

The travelling public needs to be educated about what alternative transport options are available in their own areas, writes Brian Byrne.

That's one of the views expressed by the chief executive of the National Transport Authority, Anne Graham, at a discussion on The Future of Multimodal Transport held in Dublin today.

"Quite often, people don't actually know," she told the attendance at the event in Dublin's Wood Quay Venue, organised by car-sharing company GoCar to mark the company's 10th anniversary.

She said the NTA knows that there needs to be an improvement in public transport, not just in cities but also in rural areas. She also noted the statistics mentioned that owning a car costs a minimum of around €10,000 a year and said that no annual use of public transport would come near that figure. "I think one of the things that will encourage car sharing is if people use public transport more, and then they'll consider whether they need to own a car at all."

Ms Graham also said people who hadn't used public transport for some time needed to be 'encouraged' to come back to it 'and see what improvements have taken place'.

Asked by the discussion moderator Vincent Wall whether the 'carrot' or 'stick' worked better to discourage people using their personal cars, she said 'people respond to both'. Noting that in terms of the country's cities they were working on the encouragement of sustainable transport modes, she said reduction of parking spaces and higher parking charges could play a part. "We also have proposals coming to use more of the available roads space for public transport."

Looking to the future, in answer to a query whether self-driving vehicles would help the situation, she said that privately owned autonomous vehicles would 'only add to the problem'. "But if we have dedicated bus lanes on core corridors, they would be a possibility for public transport," she said. She declined to answer what might be a timeline for this.

The event featured a keynote speech from Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross TD, followed by a panel discussion involving Dr Cara Augustenburg, Lecturer in Environmental Policy in UCD; Colm Brady, MD of GoCar & Europcar Mobility Group Ireland; Anne Graham; Owen Keegan, Chief Executive of Dublin City Council; and Sheila Struyck, MD of the Business Unit, Europcar Mobility Group.

We will be posting a number of stories from this event, which raised a wide variety of issues relating to future possibilities in public transport.

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GoCar sharing leaps forward

Users of Dublin public transport Leap cards will now be able to use their cards to rent GoCars, writes Brian Byrne.

This follows an agreement between GoCar and the NTA, and is an initiative that comes in conjunction with European National Mobility Week.

GoCar car sharing was launched in 2008 and has over 450 cars available in Dublin and 15 counties.

GoCar plans to double its fleet in 2019, and this week is offering free sign-ups and €10 off first journey, as part of European Mobility Week.

Pictured are Jonathan Roche and Colm Brady of GoCar, at the announcement of the initiative.

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Urban transport solutions 'within reach' ... but cities must act

'Multiple' changes coming down the line in the transportation sector are 'very important' for policy-makers in governments, according to Sharon Masterson of the OECD's International Transport Forum, writes Brian Byrne.

Speaking at the Electronomous Car Tech Summit 2018 in Killarney organised by Cartell.ie, she referenced in particular the concept of shared mobility against the background of a 'very strong' growth in urbanisation.

"This growth will be mainly in emerging economies, which have not yet reached the peak of their transport mobilisation," she said.

Underlining the 'extreme' inefficiency of the private car, which on average is used for less than an hour a day, she said this does show appreciation for the convenience of a car, but suggested such convenience could be leveraged for shared mobility.

This leveraging could include partnerships which are already emerging between transport companies and carmakers, assisted by the interest being shown by a younger generation used to accessing transportation by means of their smartphone apps.

Ms Masterson outlined a 'What If' scenario which her organisation had carried out, using the real urban transport details of Lisbon, using computer modelling to see what would happen if 'optimum sharing' was achieved.

"We employed real trip data, and real routes as used by people in the city, and we modelled the system so that, using shared mobility solutions, it offered the same door to door convenience and timeframes, without the need to worry about parking."

Among the solutions used in the model were 'shared taxi' ideas, and the 'taxibus' concept of flexible routing to pick up passengers who had booked 40 minutes in advance.

The project involved surveying those who commute into Lisbon and who use the various personal and public transport systems currently available. A similar survey will be carried out in Dublin, Ms Masterson noted.

When the model was completed, the project managers found that by using shared taxis and taxibuses, it could be possible to provide the same trips with just 3pc of the cars currently being operated in Lisbon.

Other elements of the study found that taking the opportunity to eliminate on-street parking would add 20pc more street space, which could be 'converted from parking to parks'.

"The system would also mean more intense use of cars, which would shorten their life in time terms and result in renewals of fleets and technology that could cut emissions by 34pc."

Ms Masterson said that solutions for the key challenges in urban transportation 'are within reach of today's technology'. "But few cities are actually anticipating transport disruption … we need to be looking around the corner, and even around the next corner," she concluded.

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SEAT pilots electric Mii car-sharing scheme

Spanish carmaker SEAT has introduced a pilot car-sharing project in Barcelona with a fleet of Mii electric cars, writes Brian Byrne.

The system is being tried out amongst 1,000 employees of SEAT and people working at Pier 01 Barcelona Tech City.

An app is used by any participant to reserve a car, which can be accessed by a digital key.

Those behind the project are working on the basis that an estimated 36m people will be using carsharing services by 2025.

Scrap that banger for car-share credit

A car sharing enterprise in Ireland is offering owners of old and little-used cars an opportunity to scrap them in return for car-sharing credit, writes Brian Byrne.

GoCar is particularly targeting cars that are idle but costing their owners fees in tax and insurance as well as NCT inspections.

The scheme is available to anyone 21 years or older with a full driving licence and a suitable vehicle.

Applicants to the scheme register their vehicle details with GoCar and their estimate of its value. The details will be assessed by GoCar and an offer made to the applicant.

GoCar operates a fleet of cars, vans and electric vehicles at various locations, which will be augmented in January by 200 more 181-registered vehicles.

Full details are available at gocar.ie/swapmycar.

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Renault Zoe for Madrid car-sharing scheme

A fleet of 500 Renault Zoe electric cars will be on offer in a car-sharing initiative in Madrid in Spain next month, writes Brian Byrne.

Under a scheme called Zity, the carmaker has joined with urban transport services operator Ferrovial to provide the cars across the country's capital, accessible to customers via a smartphone app.

Madrid already restricts the use of cars with traditional internal combustion engines during times of intense air pollution, and plans to permanently ban ICE engines from its centre in the middle of next year.

Parking is free for electric vehicles in the city.

With a driving range of up to 285m in real world conditions, the supermini Zoe is Europe's best selling electric car.

Mercedes-Benz extends private car sharing project

A private car sharing service piloted by Mercedes-Benz in Munich has now been rolled out to Berlin, writes Brian Byrne.

The Croove initiative uses a smartphone app to link people who want to rent out their private cars for periods when they are not otherwise in use with people who want to rent a specific model or make of car.

Owners create an online profile with the details of their vehicle, including any optional equipment. The person renting out their vehicle can set their own price or Croove can help with this to balance supply and demand.

Vehicles must be in good condition and no more than 15 years old. Renters (minimum age 21, must hold a valid driving licence) simply have to register and then they can contact vehicle owners via the app or website and arrange appointments.

It is possible to either collect the vehicle in person or pay extra for a pickup and delivery service. In future, Croove intends to make keyless access possible. Payment is made electronically via the app.

The project is part of the Mercedes-Benz CASE initiative involving connectivity, autonomous cars, shared use, and electric vehicles.

Toyota in EV car-share trial

These cars are Toyota's input into a pilot electric vehicle car sharing system, in Grenoble, France, writes Brian Byrne. It gets under way on 1 October.

Cite Lib by Ha:mo is a new type of mobility based on ultra-compact electric vehicles, the service aims to complement Grenoble’s public transport network with a solution for short-trips — including one-way trips — that can be planned as part of overall city journeys.

The vehicles and the charging stations are seamlessly connected to the IT infrastructure of Grenoble’s transport network, offering both route planning and online/mobile app reservations.

Users can pick-up one of the 70 vehicles and drop it off at any station near their destination without having to return it to the original pickup point. They will only be charged for the ride.

The scheme features 35 Toyota i-ROAD 3-wheel personal mobility vehicle equipped with Active Lean technology that emulates the movements of a skier. There are also 35 four-wheel vehicles, Toyota Auto Body’s COMS, as part of the project.

The service eliminates the need to look for a parking place. In addition, the compactness of the vehicles makes it easier to plan and build parking and charging infrastructure.

A simple pricing plan dubbed '3, 2, 1 euros' for respectively the first, second and third 15-minute increments will be proposed to Grenoble citizens. For annual local transport card subscribers, the price will be reduced, at 2 + 1 euro for respectively the first and subsequent 15-minute increments.

Topaz gets fuel links to GoCar

Fuel supplier and convenience retailer Topaz has been appointed as the official fuel supplier to GoCar, Ireland’s only car sharing initiative.

The car club, which currently operates in both Dublin and Cork, now has up to 70 vehicles which are equipped with Topaz Fuel cards for members to refuel on their trips.

GoCar works on a pay-per-trip basis which allows users to access a vehicle when and as they need it. Members aren’t charged for parking at any pay and display parking spaces in the Dublin City Council area. In addition some of the stresses and cost associated with motoring such as insurance premiums and vehicle servicing are also removed.

Car-sharing has become a large element of urban motoring in many European and American cities, often with direct participation or operation by major carmakers.

10,000 trip milestone for GoCar Ireland

A car sharing initiative which currently operates in both Dublin and Cork, now has a total of 2,000 Irish members, 20 percent of which are corporate members, writes Trish Whelan.

The car club, GoCar, now has some 54 GoBases and is supported by a fleet of 62 GoCar vehicles. A total of 10,000 trips has been clocked up in 2013, doubling the company’s initial target of 5,000 trips.

The increase in membership is mainly down to the license granted by Dublin City Council last July to operate on-street from their 30,000 pay-and-display parking spaces which allowed GoCar to place 50 vehicles from 31 pay-and-display locations in convenient locations in the capital, such as Barrow Street, Stoneybatter, Arran Quay, the Docklands, Drumcondra, Rathgar, IFSC, Clontarf and Donnybrook.

Car clubs like GoCar operate in many major European and US cities and the concept is rapidly catching on now in Ireland.

CoGar are hoping to exceed 20,000 trips in 2014 and add more bases across Dublin, including St Stephens Green, UCD and Merrion Square.

Prepared to share a car?

If you were driving a trip somewhere in Europe, would you be prepared to take along a stranger for some or all of the way, for a prepaid fee, writes Brian Byrne. Or would you be on for the other side of the coin, paying on the internet to book the ride?

Well, a ride-sharing business set up in 2009 in Paris is now Europe-wide, and BlaBlaCar.com members transported 3m people last year. This year the company expects to facilitate the transport of 10m people.

The operation runs a website where members can post details of trips they are offering, and what the charge will be (in the UK, as I write, Manchester to Carlisle is going for £10, for instance).

BlaBlaCar authenticates the identities of all members, and since the money paid isn't a case of plying for hire or reward, but just a contribution towards running costs, it doesn't affect the motorist's insurance.

As the rider contacts the car owner direct online, there's an element of choice or travelling companions.

The initiative was started by a French student studying in Stanford USA one Christmas, and when he couldn't get a train or bus home in France he posted a request online and got an offer from a motorist going his way.

The system is in 10 countries and has offered more than 24 million seats in the last four and a half years.

The company estimates over £100m has been saved by members sharing cars since it set up, and some 500,000 tonnes of CO2 hasn't been pumped into the atmosphere.

Car sharing to grow, Ford joins the party

Ford has entered the car-sharing market in Europe, a sector estimated to involve about 15m users by 2020, writes Brian Byrne.

Peugeot-Citroen, Daimler, Toyota and VW are already in the market, which currently numbers 700,000 users, according to a report in Automotive News Europe. The largest proportion of the business is expected to be in Germany, Britain and France.

Consultants Frost & Sullivan say more than four in ten car owners are now considering joining a car-sharing programme, while Ford suggests that more than half would. Most of those already using car-sharing instead of owning cars are under 34, and it's believed that there's now one rental car for every 12 private cars in the key European markets group.

Ford2Go is being rolled out in conjunction with German dealerships. Daimler has been operating its Car2go since 2008 and is profitable in a number of the cities where it operates. BMW has offered car-sharing since 2011 with the Sixt car rental company, and VW launched the whole concept back in 1997.