Shared mobility in Paris - The Networked Society Blog Would you give up your car and instead subscribe to a car sharing service? I got this question a few months ago from a friend living in Paris. My initial reaction was no. I like the fact that my car is my own and that it is accessible where, and when, I want it. But then I listened to my friend’s hands-on experience with car sharing. The service he is using is called Autolib, an electric-car sharing scheme that has been operating in Paris for about a year. It simplifies his life and he absolutely loves it. There is always a car available fairly close-by and there are no more stressful, endless searches for available parking spots, as Autolib has plenty of dedicated parking spaces with charging poles. Most surprising is, perhaps, his claim that the cars are always left clean by prior users. Last week-end I was in Paris and could see people getting in and out of the shared cars. The few vehicles I peeked into were, indeed, neat and tidy.

Shared mobility in Paris - The Networked Society Blog

Would you give up your car and instead subscribe to a car sharing service? I got this question a few months ago from a friend living in Paris. My initial reaction was no. I like the fact that my car is my own and that it is accessible where, and when, I want it. But then I listened to my friend’s hands-on experience with car sharing.

The service he is using is called Autolib, an electric-car sharing scheme that has been operating in Paris for about a year. It simplifies his life and he absolutely loves it. There is always a car available fairly close-by and there are no more stressful, endless searches for available parking spots, as Autolib has plenty of dedicated parking spaces with charging poles. Most surprising is, perhaps, his claim that the cars are always left clean by prior users.
Last week-end I was in Paris and could see people getting in and out of the shared cars. The few vehicles I peeked into were, indeed, neat and tidy.

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Paris launches world-first electric car-share scheme | Physorg.com A Bluecar is pictured in Paris, on the first day of a test session of the Autolib electric car pick-up service. Self-service electric cars appeared on the streets of Paris Sunday, as a French group launched a public car-hire scheme modelled on the capital’s popular bicycle-sharing system and designed to become the world’s largest of its kind. Self-service electric cars appeared on the streets of Paris Sunday, as a French group launched a public car-hire scheme modelled on the capital’s popular bicycle-sharing system and designed to become the world’s largest of its kind.

Paris launches world-first electric car-share scheme | Physorg.com

A Bluecar is pictured in Paris, on the first day of a test session of the Autolib electric car pick-up service. Self-service electric cars appeared on the streets of Paris Sunday, as a French group launched a public car-hire scheme modelled on the capital’s popular bicycle-sharing system and designed to become the world’s largest of its kind.

Self-service electric cars appeared on the streets of Paris Sunday, as a French group launched a public car-hire scheme modelled on the capital’s popular bicycle-sharing system and designed to become the world’s largest of its kind.

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GOOD: Zipcar: The Apple of Car Sharing

tayloransley:

A neat look at the many things Zipcar does well.  I’m particularly struck by how the complexity of fleet management behind the scenes is largely hidden (in a good way) from consumers.  Two examples from the piece:

RFID cards and readers: These are low-power transmitters embedded into the membership cards of each customer, who, upon arriving at their car, waves the card over a receiver in the car window. As far as the customer is concerned this simply unlocks the car (which has the keys inside). But there is a complex process going on in the background. The car sends a signal back to Zipcar’s computers checking that the person, the time, and the car are all matched, and if the car gets the OK, then it unlocks the doors. This technology makes the process of connecting customers with their cars both simple for the user and secure for Zipcar.  […]

Car Insurance: Is provided by a third party, and included in the membership fees so is essentially invisible to customers unless they need to make a claim.

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