Marylou Costa
Technological journalist
Donatas ališauskas
Ieva Mackeviciute uses car sharing to move Vilnius
Ieva MacKeviciute lives in Kaunas, the second city in Lithuania, but works in the capital, Vilnius.
She takes the one hour train in the Vilnius office of her business once a week, where she uses a self -sharing service to behave at customer meetings throughout the day.
Thanks to an application, it can find where the nearest available car is located and leave, pay the minute – a system that it finds practical and flexible.
Some suppliers even include parking in the price, and if it takes an electric car, it’s even better, because they qualify for free parking in the city.
“The ability to move quickly to a big city and not worry about parking, helps me have a more flexible schedule and better control of my time,” explains Ms. Mackevite, 30, who works in communications.
However, despite being a regular self -sharing user, Ms. Mackeviciute still has a car in Kaunas, which she regularly uses to visit family life in the countryside. And even working in Vilnius, occasional problems with the sharing of cars can disrupt Ms. Mackeviciute day.
“It can sometimes be difficult to find a vehicle nearby. And sometimes, when you rush, the closest vehicle cannot have one, but a few, the lighting lights on. Although I understand that the maintenance of the fleet is a challenge, especially as a business is developing, it’s always disappointing,” she said.
Regarding cars, most people feel like Ms. Mackeviciute – they always want to own one.
In the United Kingdom, for example, while 61% of people drive daily and 68% are concerned about the increase in the cost of car possession, 78% do not know what cars are shared, and less than 20% of Londoners are planning to register for such a program, according to a report by the Sixt car rental company.
Although brands like Zipcar has been around since 2000, industry data show that car sharing is always a niche service.
There are only two million cars to share users in the United Kingdom, while around 35 million people still have a car.
“Consumers are always linked to exclusive access to their car. Clear skepticism as to the possibility of self -sharing sharing options to provide a car to be put back whenever they need, and concerns about hassles are the biggest problems,” explains Felicity Latcham, associate partner at OC & C Strategy Consultants.
“This concern becomes greater for families and the elderly who are particularly linked to the possibility of leaving things in their vehicle.”
Getty images
Zipcar plans to become entirely electric this year
But the growing electrification of the car sharing market could be attractive for younger and conscious drivers.
In an McKinsey survey in 2023 among 4,000 people in the United Kingdom, France and Germany, 32% of those in the Gen Z media said they wanted to use shared mobility diets more, wishing to reduce the dependence of private cars.
The survey also suggested that 50% of generation Z also wants their next car to be fully electric.
The self -sharing industry is heading in this direction.
Almost a quarter of European cars’ sharing companies now offer a 100%electric fleet.
A third of the cars shared in the EU are electric vehicles, according to Statista data. Meanwhile, Zipcar doubled its electric fleet in 2023 in the United Kingdom, with plans to go entirely electric this year.
Spark, the Lithuanian Self -Party MS Mackevicuite company uses frequently, launched with a fully electric fleet in 2016.
Its recent performance has been encouraging, with a user basis recorded up 30% since 2022, and annual travel numbers up 11%.
Spark
Spark launched with an electric fleet in 2016
Since July of last year, users of the BOLT carpooling application – The response of the Baltic States to Uber – can also book Spark vehicles.
The founder of Spark, Nerijus Dagilis, is convinced that the growing availability of electric vehicles can bring more people on board with the sharing of cars, in particular with the support of the city of Vilnius, which, above the free parking for electric cars, also allows them to be driven in the bus tracks.
“Our basin of customers increases each month, which means that we create a certain value for people, who prefer electric cars for reasons of sustainability. It becomes a daily habit for many people, especially families – we see more of them repressing two cars to one,” explains Mr. Dagilis.
“The performance of electric cars improves quickly, so although there is still a certain skepticism, as soon as an electric car can drive 500 km on a single load, I think that people anxiety should disappear.”
Kite
Kite incorporates car sharing in new residential buildings
Canada’s kite is a car sharing company with a touch. Not only is it entirely electric, but it associates real estate developers to offer cars of kite to residents of apartments of apartments as a service included, either for subsidized membership fees, similar to a gym or a swimming pool.
A kite center is generally installed at the first level of the underground parking lot in the building, so that the residents reserve their choice of 40 fully loaded electric cars.
In some places, kite users can return their car to another building. Kite is currently alive in 20 buildings across Canada, with plans to add 70 others over the next 18 months, adding properties to the United States and Europe.
Kite founder Scott Macwillam says that the convenience and backup they offer potential residents are a draw.
“There is a growing trend of more people with an animated urban life that wants a” turnkey “lifestyle. Real estate promoters see this as an advantage of sales and marketing,” said Macwilliam.
“Residents can save money by abandoning their private car, and this cost saving means that they can now afford to live in the building, or maybe they can even upgrade their apartment.”
Mr. Macwilliam says that Kite gives the thousands of residents of the building the possibility of trying to share cars and an electric vehicle, without any pressure or engagement, in a set where everything is covered – from the load and maintenance to insurance.
Kite also hopes to install kite centers in stations and introduce autonomous cars.
“What fascinates me the most is that we could fundamentally change the way buildings are built, forever,” he said.
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