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.