Car-sharing gets in gear

Date: 17/01/02

THE European Union is funding a pilot study into an innovative car-sharing scheme aimed at freeing-up gridlocked European streets.

After the success of an earlier project in Bremen, Germany, 120 local residents have registered as users of a fleet of nine Smart Cars - paying 35 cents a kilometre and €1.29 per hour for any journeys.

Whenever they need a car they simply reserve one on the internet, pick it up and use a computer smart card to gain entry.

Later, the user returns the vehicle with a full tank of petrol - as if it were a traditional hire car.

But, unlike normal hire cars, these vehicles can be reserved for a trip lasting just a few minutes - and the price is far lower.

Bologna's transport operator ATC and partners such as Polis, a group of cities promoting better transport networks, won an EU grant of €3.76 million to show how smart IT systems can be used to manage state-of-the-art car-sharing schemes.

Polis director Isabelle Dussutour said each shared car could replace six to ten privately owned ones.

She added that three other European cities - Barcelona, Strasbourg and Bucharest - are already examining how to implement a similar service.

A pilot study into an innovative car-sharing scheme will be funded by the European Union.