Posts Tagged ‘Go Get’

Carshare and bikes

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

Go Get, Australia’s largest carshare company had a neat story in their latest newsletter.

The City of Sydney is helping to make carsharing even more convenient, by adding bicycle parking rings to some of the sign poles next to carshare pods.

So if you need to cycle to a  car that might be a little far to walk – say you want a car to shoot out shopping- you can lock up your bike while you drive out there.

You can then drop your new flatpacks, rugs, scented candles, and ergonomic pillows at home, and then return the car back to its pod, before cycling back home!

We’ve sent the idea to Auckland Council, so hopefully the new onstreet car park signs might have a bike ring! Did you see the brightly painted carshare space! COOL

 

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Aussies know how to share & save!

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

Bruce Jeffrey Co Founder Go Get with cityhop

Our mates at Go Get are growing fast. Admitedly they are big older than us! Nearly five years older. It helps that Sydney and Melbourne Councils are all getting the ‘carshare’ thing and putting parks on street too. This has really helped all the car share operators draw attention to how easy it is to live without your own car.

If you drive less than 10,000 kms a year car share will save you money. Find out more about how Aussies are saving money and still getting around!

With carsharing the petrol is included in the hourly rate of getting about. “Most members of carshare programmes, adds Victoria Carter, co-founder of Cityhop,”have no idea what it costs to fill a tank. They aren’t paying!.”

Carsharing not only works for residents but businesses can also save thousands of dollars in transport costs by cutting their taxi bills and car lease costs.

Not only is it cost effective but carsharing is a greener transport alternative to owning a car and then adding to traffic congestion and the subsequent impact on the environment and green spaces.

Read more at

http://blacktown-advocate.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/car-sharing-catching-on/

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Sharing gets respectable!

Friday, June 17th, 2011

The Guardian had an article by John Elkington about how times may be a-changing and that whereas once people aspired to get a company car or save up for a flasher car these days they are more interested in not owning. ( well in the US, UK and Europe) NZ may have a little way to go.

Elkington noted how we spoke at a conference in Madrid and that “someone from the auto industry noted to a small group of us that what is really spooking them is the fact that young people are beginning to think differently about car ownership.

“Unlike earlier generations, for whom owning a car was a signal of independence, of having arrived, young people these days are showing much less inclination to possess their own car – and, empowered by mobile phones, apps, social networks and start-ups like Go Get, Streetcar, Zipcar, WhipCar and City Car Club, they are increasingly opting for car sharing.

Now there’s a thought!

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At what price will we stop driving?

Wednesday, May 4th, 2011

 

At what price will we think we can still afford to be a two or three car family?

One theory is that despite petrol edging up over $2.21 a litre car travel is still relatively under-priced and over-consumed in relation to the damage we are doing to the environment. 

It might surprise readers to know most of us have tripled the kilometres we drive in the past 20 years. Maybe only the right kind of pricing can undo the obsession many of us have to drive everywhere?

That’s why car share clubs are taking off around the world. People who only use a car a few times a week yet pay for a smart piece of metal to sit in an expensive garage realise that it makes no sense. They sell their car and use cityhops ecofriendly cars instead!

It’s cheap -only $15 an hour, or $75 for 24 hours.

Says Victoria Carter Cityhop co-founder,”Car share means all the nice things about having a car but none of the bad – like someone else worrying about the maintenance, remembering the Warrant of Fitness, registration, checking the tyres and so on. 

Car share is growing in popularity. In the US, it’s cool to be a Zipster and  Zipcar , which  recently floated very successfully, has over half a million members sharing cars.

Our friends at Go Get have doubled in size to 10,000 members in the past 12 months. Sydney and Mebourne residents get that it makes sense to just use car share occasionally rather than pay the costs of having a car in your driveway!

Maybe it’s time to think about what your really car costs?

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Reducing greenhouse gases and saving money

Saturday, October 16th, 2010

People all over the world are recognising the damage driving their cars is doing to the environment. Car share addresses this significant environmental issue and results in reduced carbon emissions from less driving. The transport sector accounts for nearly 20 per cent of green house gas emissions and these gases are dominated by carbon dioxide from fuel combustion.

New Zealand has to acknowledge the impact car ownership is doing to the planet. 88 % of emissions are from cars on the road. And its not trucks doing this-  domestic transport is the largest source of CO 2 emissions. 

We love our cars – according to Sustainable Living we have 60 of them for every 100 people in the population. Two thirds of us still drive to work. Why? One theory is that despite petrol edging up to $2.00 a litre car travel is still relatively under-priced and over-consumed in relation to the damage we are doing to the environment. 

Most of us have tripled the miles that we drive in the past 20 years. We have become a lot more mobile but it’s at a cost.

 

 

Communauto, the Canadian car share co-operative has calculated that every car in car share is replacing 8 individually owned cars. Their average members, and there are 17,000 in Montreal, reduces their average distance driven by 2,900 kilometres. That means a reduction of 1.2 tonnes of greenhouse gases , on average, per member, reports a story in the Montreal Gazette.

 

Zipcar, the US car share company did a survey  on their customer base, and discovered that:

·        40% of their members decided against purchasing a car, or ended up selling their car.

  • Car usage of individual members is reduced by as much as 50%. 
  • Members reported a 47% increase in public transportation usage, a 10% increase in bicycle usage and a 26% increase in walking trips.

The other big advantage from car sharing at $15 an hour and not owning is the money saved. On average car share members are reported to save around $6000 a year from car share rather than owning. You don’t have the car payments, maintenance, costs, repairs,registration, insurance, parking costs and so on. 

Think about it? Are you ready for a green move that frees up your wallet too?  

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Car share spirit – people sell their car

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Cityhop has a partner in Oz, Go Get car share. In Sydney and Melbourne Go Get has a great relationship with the council. In Sydney in particular, Go Get, has a number of ‘pods’ car parks with special signs like the one above.

Can you read what is on the post it? Some cool mmeber was so delighted at the new park they left a note, viral marketing in action telling those who stopped to read it and were curious how great car share is.

The ‘post it’ says, “Yay for GoGet! We sold our car for this. 10 members in Hordern St alone. More parking for all.”

That is the spirit of car share – people DO sell their car and can rely on car share to get them places when they need wheels. The result: fewer cars on the road, more spaces for everyone, safer streets, cleaner air, oh and the big benefit, more money to spend!

Have a closer look at what your car is costing you. Car share makes sense if you don’t use your car everyday.

Research by the world’s largest car share company shows that people who join car share reduce their driving by up to 40 per cent.

50 per cent decide to sell one or another of their cars or put off buying a car. People walk, cycle, use public transport more once they car share – why? Beacuse it makes sense.

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