July - 2017

New social networking, ride-sharing app "SnapRyde"

SnapRyde is about 50 percent cheaper than other car-sharing apps such as Uber and Lyft SnapRyde, the social car-sharing app where “rides happen at a lower cost” has recently expanded to the University of Wisconsin. The 1,020 user app made by the students and for the students is a cheap and easy way that tailors to students needs by connecting riders and drivers that are heading in the same direction. It works as a ride-sharing, social networking, environmentally conscious and

California Approves Sacramento-Area Electric Car Share Program

Partnership will be announced at a press event Wednesday, August 2 Today, Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna are excited to announce that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved Volkswagen subsidiary Electrify America’s proposal to designate Sacramento as its first Green City. The investment will bring $44 million to the City of Sacramento which will include Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure designed to increase access to Z

SFMTA Approved 1,000 Parking Spaces To Be Reserved For Car-Sharing Services

Last week, SFMTA's Board of Directors approved a full permit program for car-sharing companies after a 2013 pilot that allowed companies to use 200 public parking spaces. Under the plan, 1,000 parking spots will be converted into car-sharing spaces. “Each permitted parking space served many people, rather than just one private vehicle at a time,” wrote SFMTA in its report. It also revealed that a car could be used by as many as 19 people if it was part of a car-sharing servic

Dealers are still missing from mobility conversation

Projections about autonomous vehicles and shared vehicle use are pervasive. In some forecasts, houses will not need driveways or garages because networks of on-demand self-driving vehicles will whisk us away whenever we want. One study posits that cost advantages of vehicle sharing over private ownership in North America will be so great that "mobility as a service" will account for 95 percent of the passenger miles driven within just 10 years. Such a future has vehicle sales

NZ electric car start-up Mevo looks to Australia

Wellington-based electric car-sharing start-up Mevo has its sights set on expanding to Australia and is in discussions with the City of Sydney and will be meeting with local councils and governments in Melbourne and Brisbane in August. The company, which is building up a fleet of hybrid electric Audis and offers people in Wellington a membership-based service, intends to be in five cities across Australia and New Zealand in the next five years, with up to 2000 vehicles on the

Uber rival "Grab" raises $2.5bn in biggest ever round of investment in South East Asia

Uber rival Grab has secured a new $2.5bn (£1.9bn) fundraising round, describing it as the biggest ever round of investment in South East Asia. Japan's Softbank and DiDi Chuxing, which dominates the car-sharing market in China, will invest up to $2bn, with new and current investors to provide the remaining $500m. "We're encouraged that these two visionary companies share our optimism for the future of South East Asia and its on-demand transportation and payments markets, and r

Mexico City Eliminates Mandatory Parking Minimums

The largest city in North America has done away with one of the biggest hidden subsidies for driving: minimum parking requirements. Mexico City eliminated requirements that force developers to build a minimum number of parking spaces in each project. The city will instead cap the number of parking spaces allowed in new development, depending on the type and size of the building. Existing parking spaces can also be converted to other uses. Mexico City Mayor Miguel Mancera sign

Shift Raises $38M in Series C Funding Led by BMW iVentures

Company has raised more than $110 Million Total, Funding Will Be Used to Invest in Technology, Grow Team & Enter New Markets SAN FRANCISCO, July 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Shift (shift.com), a San Francisco-based startup that combines technology and a team of car concierges to take the hassle and guesswork out of buying and selling pre-owned cars, today announced that it has raised a $38M Series C financing led by BMW iVentures, with participation from new major investors DCM V

Shell to install forecourt rapid chargers by end of year

Shell will start installing rapid chargers at UK forecourts, with the first units due to be operational before the end of 2017. Working with EV charging firm Allego, the first units will be installed in London, Derby, and the Netherlands. With Shell’s intention to add EV charging points to forecourt announced previously, the company is ahead of forthcoming legislation announced in the Queen’s Speech last month. Charge points will have to be installed at motorway services (alt

"ZipCar Flex" aims to take car sharing into the mainstream

ZipCar has announced the launch of ZipCar Flex in London, a new one-way drive-and-drop service, which the company says will take car sharing into the mainstream. Via the ZipCar app members can now choose the ZipCar Flex service to jump into a car and drive to a destination one-way, ending their trip by dropping it off in any one of the thousands of approved parking bays within the designated 'Zipzone' - a zone of 70km2 across London. ZipCar is currently the UK's largest car-s