Advantages of car-sharing
What is car-sharing?
Car-sharing is a service that allows drivers to use a shared vehicle and it represents one of the pillars for sustainable urban mobility. Various forms of the car-sharing model exist. The concept most frequently in use in cities is flexible car-sharing or free-floating car-sharing.
Cars are distributed in cities within a defined business area and can be spontaneously and flexibly picked up and dropped off there at any time. Registered members can search for cars in their vicinity via their smartphones and can either reserve one for 20 minutes free of charge, or simply rent one on the spot.
There are no annual or monthly fees for members. Billing is calculated on a per-minute basis, according to the selected model and rate. Fuel, taxes and insurance are all included.
Crucially, all of this is done digitally via a smartphone app, including registration, unlocking cars, payment, and even the validation of your driver’s license.
Long-term car-sharing
In its infancy, car-sharing was typically used for single journeys lasting anywhere from a couple of minutes to an hour. Since car-sharing has matured over time, the enthusiasm for a wider range of use cases has developed. Long-term car-sharing is becoming more popular. With SHARE NOW, you can now drive a car how long as you need thanks to our hourly or daily rates. You can also prebook a car in advance and get it delivered wherever you want for 1-30 days trips.
Why car-sharing is the future of urban mobility
On average, privately owned cars are used less than an hour a day. When you’ve got a city full of cars that are parked for 23 hours every day, occupying valuable public space, you’ve got a problem. The answer? Car-sharing.
The discrepancy between reducing the need for a vehicle whilst remaining flexibly mobile gave rise to the idea of several people sharing one car – and thus, car-sharing was born. The idea is booming, and the number of users in the car-sharing space is expected to reach 58,3 million by 2025 (Statista).
It’s easy to see why. In a recent Global Automotive Consumer study from Deloitte, it was highlighted that the so-called Generation Y (those born between 1977 and 1994) desire connectivity and convenience and are choosing from an ever-increasing range of transportation types for getting around their cities.
Advantages of car-sharing
Five reasons why car-sharing is amazing
Car-sharing is the future of urban mobility. Here are five main reasons why car-sharing is great for people, cities, and society as a whole.
1. Car-sharing saves you money
Car-sharing removes from the equation all of the costs that come with car ownership: road tax, insurance, legally required inspections, tires changes, potential parking fees. This is all before you have even gotten out of neutral and into first gear. The most significant saving, however, is fuel. In Europe, the average car owner spends more than 1,000 € a year on fueling their privately owned cars. When you add in all the other costs that owners pay whether they drive or not, the yearly outlay comes to more than 2,000 €.
2. Car-sharing is the king of convenience
The joy of moving around a city is largely dependent on public transport and infrastructure. But for many, car-sharing has become a valuable complement to metro or tram networks. It’s the flexibility that is key here. Rentals can be started and ended anywhere, at any time, within the home area. You can afford to be completely spontaneous about how to get from A to B. When you factor in the fact that everything you need to jump in a car and drive to your destination is already in your pocket - from registration to the rental process, everything can be done easily via smartphone - then car-sharing becomes just another service alongside buses and the subway.
3. Car-sharing is green
Car-sharing helps cities with the reduction of congestion, air pollution and the shortage of parking spaces anyone who has driven in a big city will have experience of. Each car-sharing car replaces between eight to twenty private cars in the city, freeing up valuable space for living. A car-sharing car is used up to six times more often than a private car, meaning cars spend more time where they belong - on the road - and not sitting static, clogging up our city streets.In addition, older cars, less eco-friendly cars are replaced by new, low-emission and electric cars.
4. Car-sharing offers plenty of choice
Depending on your location and choice of car-sharing service, Peugeot, Fiat, Citroën, Opel, BMW models are available to drive. Thanks to the unique pricing model car-sharing offers, more comfortable models are now affordable. For hundreds of thousands of users, the electric car-sharing service provided by SHARE NOW and other providers offer a first and simple introduction to electromobility. If you’ve ever driven an all-electric car, you’ll understand why the experience is so popular with car enthusiasts. All the power, all the torque, all of the time. If you’ve never driven an EV but are interested in experiencing the future, car-sharing is your chance to try it.
5. Car-sharing is the future
Experts agree that car-sharing will continue its rapid growth over the next few years. Technological developments, such as autonomous driving and the increasing linkage of mobility solutions, as well as alternative driving modes, are set to shape tomorrow’s mobility. City residents are already moving within an increasingly seamless network and sustainable ecosystem that combines car-sharing, ride-hailing, parking, charging and multimodality from a single source. The common goal is a unified, comprehensive and digital mobility solution for a better life in a networked world.
