April - 2018

WaiveCar That Promises Free Rentals Arrives in NYC

L.A.-based WaiveCar partners with Williamsburg building to dip toe in local market A company offering free, short-term rental cars has partnered with a developer as part of its push into the New York City market. Los Angeles-based WaiveCar and Douglaston Development announced Wednesday that they will offer the service for a year to residents at Level, a rental tower on the Williamsburg waterfront that began leasing apartments last year. WaiveCar's business model is based on r

How to use LA’s all-electric car-share program

Angelenos who don’t own their own cars now have another way to get around the city on four wheels. An electric car-share service called BlueLA has expanded with self-service kiosks in East Hollywood, Rampart Village, Pico-Union, and Downtown LA’s Fashion District. Launched in June as a test program in Westlake, the service is now operating across a larger swath of Central Los Angeles, primarily in neighborhoods that are predominately lower income. “Folks that need caregivers

UDrive CarSharing Launches in Abu Dhabi

The first "Free-Floating" CarShare service similar to Car2Go launches in the UAE. This innovative car rental service allows you to rent a car by the minute and drop it off anywhere in the city. "If you occasionally need to drive but don’t want the commitment of a car, then a new pay-per-minute rental service launching in Abu Dhabi could be for you." Udrive is a car sharing service that allows users to pick up a vehicle anywhere in the city and only pay for the duration they u

Empowering Women to Ride?

Female taxi drivers pose for a photo in front of their vehicles at Noor Jordan for Transport — Taxi Moumayaz’s (Special Taxi) parking lot in Amman, Jordan. The Jordanian taxi company launched a new service run only for women, exclusively by women. The Ride-hailing industry is at the forefront of the new sharing economy. In emerging markets such as Egypt, India, Indonesia, and Brazil it has become successful by opening income-generating opportunities for the unemployed or part

Car-sharing startup Turo raises additional $12 million

Peer-to-Peer CarSharing marketplace Turo has officially closed a $104 million Series D round. This comes following a $12 million investment from Sumitomo Corporation and American Express Ventures, on top of a $92 million raise earlier this year. “As a company that is intensely focused on enabling its customers to have unique travel experiences, American Express’ strategic investment positions us well within the travel ecosystem,” Turo wrote in a blog post. “Sumitomo Corporat

Mercedes-Benz will launch its car subscription service in June

Mercedes-Benz will launch its car subscription service, the Mercedes-Benz Collection, in June. The service will debut as a pilot in Nashville and Philadelphia. The service will have multiple pricing tiers and give users access to a variety of vehicles. Mercedes-Benz is the latest automaker to launch a subscription service that gives customers access to a variety of cars for a single monthly fee. The service, called Mercedes-Benz Collection, launches in June as a pilot in Nash

Carsharing Service Membership Reaches 23.8 Million

“Carsharing services are offered by specialist carsharing companies, car rental companies, carmakers, as well as other players such as public transport operators”, said Martin Svegander, IoT analyst at Berg Insight. The number of users of carsharing services worldwide is forecasted to grow from 23.8 million people in 2017 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.6 percent to reach 60.8 million people in 2022, according to a new research report by IoT analyst firm Berg In

Coming soon to the Uber app: bikes, rental cars, and public transportation

Remember back in the day when you’d open the Uber app and just see cars? Well, that’s all about to change. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is in Washington, DC today to make a wide-ranging announcement on Uber’s plans to integrate a variety of new transportation options to its app, including bikes, car-sharing vehicles, and public transportation like buses and trains. Uber will also share more of its data on traffic patterns and curbside usage with cities in an effort to become “t

Uber has acquired dockless bike-share company Jump

Uber is officially entering the dockless bike-sharing space. The ride-hail company has acquired electric bike-share startup Jump Bikes for an undisclosed amount. Owning and operating its own bike-share service may help Uber mitigate the threat that e-bike and e-scooter services pose to the ride-hail company’s business, specifically for trips under three or so miles. Bike services are a more affordable means to complete first- and last-mile trips to Uber’s suite of services. T

In Age of CarSharing, Uber and Tesla, Local Dealerships Face Conundrum

Americans who have been buying cars from the same mom-and-pop dealership for generations could be greeted by a different kind of for-sale sign the next time they visit. Small to mid-size dealer groups are selling their businesses to auto-retail giants or investment firms at a robust clip even as auto sales remain strong. The trend—highlighted by Warren Buffett’s entry into the dealership business in 2014—has gathered momentum as electric, shared and autonomous vehicles threat