By John Ballard
Consider this.
Until now it has been a niche market. But with the recession making car-buying too expensive for many people, pay-as-you-drive could become as widespread as renting a DVD.
Major motor manufacturers are all planning to launch their own schemes.
The first to be rolled out will be by Peugeot, starting in London next month before extending across the country.
It aims to make swapping between cars as simple as a rental from a video store - with a payment scheme more like that used for pay-as-you-go phones.
In return for a �10 membership fee, members have access to a range of vehicles - from small urban cars to people movers and even scooters and bicycles - which they can use by the day, weekend, week, or 10-day period.
They can be swapped around to suit need or mood.
Drivers will be given a pre-pay card on which credits can be topped up online - either by direct payments or with loyalty points - in the way that people now routinely top up the credits on their phones.
Peugeot will launch its first UK scheme at a South London dealership next month.
The next areas are likely to be Bath and Bristol and the Midlands. Similar schemes are already running in France, in Paris, Brest, Lyon, Rennes and Nantes.
Peugeot is still working out the pricing for its UK scheme, but, based on the French experience, the cost of hiring a small 207 supermini could be �56 a day, �100 for a weekend, �300 for a week, or �380 for ten days.
An open-topped cabriolet could range from �90 to �600.
Although companies such as StreetCar already offer carsharing schemes, this is the first time manufacturers have entered the market.
Daimler is trialling a payasyou go system called Car2Go in Germany and Texas and it could come to Britain.
The schemes are an acceptance by car firms that younger people and the cash-strapped want personal wheels to get around, but without the hassle of ownership.
The economic downturn has seen millions of families trying to trim their budgets.
This article touches on an exciting vision of transportation of the future.The business model of renting instead of owning is well established. We rent tools, storage space, tuxedos, catering supplies, furniture... just about anything we need can be rented instead of owned.
As for anything else, there is a market for high-end rentals as well as the economy class. Look at the range of time-share vacation places. Or housing, from trailers to penthouses and everything in between
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The Georgia Institute of Technology today receives a prestigious $50,000 Ford College Community Challenge Grant. The grant, provided by the Ford Motor Company Fund, will be used to establish an innovative bike share program with bikes from Emory University�s successful bike share program. Designed by mechanical engineering students from the Sustainable Design and Manufacturing program at Georgia Tech, this unique project creates a �kiosk-free� bike share infrastructure called �viaCycle.� Bicycles can be located and checked in and out with the use of text messages from any mobile phone, making the system incredibly easy to use.
The Ford College Community Challenge (Ford C3) is a national challenge grant competition that recognizes colleges and universities that utilize a school's resources and capacity to address an urgent, unmet social need or problem in the local community. Proposals must address the theme of the Challenge � Building Sustainable Communities � in some unique and innovative way. Unlike many traditional college grant programs, Ford C3 requires colleges to create project proposals that have significant student input, involvement and leadership from beginning to end. Only five Ford C3 awards are made each year.
�Winning proposals have a distinctive student perspective on what it means to have a sustainable community,� said Mike Schmidt, director of Education and Community Development at Ford Motor Company Fund. �Each year, we select five winning proposals to receive this one-time award. The Georgia Tech-Emory proposal caught our eye since it involved a public and private university collaboration and an exciting, new approach to a bike share program.�
For the winning proposal, Georgia Tech and Emory University combined the successful Bike Emory program with the student-created viaCycle bike distribution solution. Created in 2007, Bike Emory is an innovative partnership between Emory University, Advanced Sports Inc. and Bicycle South designed to support a richer bicycling experience on and around Emory�s campus. This partnership allows Bike Emory to provide cyclists with a bike share program, discounts on bicycles, an on-campus bike repair/parts station, classes on bike safety and other programming events.
�We believe this is an excellent project and we�re excited to partner with the Bike Emory program to positively impact the way Atlanta commutes,� said Dr. Bert Bras, Georgia Tech professor of mechanical engineering.
�We�re excited to serve as a test bed for the viaCycle,� said Jamie Smith, director of Bike Emory. �This is a wonderful way to expand transportation options at Emory.�
The viaCyle bike distribution solution offers lower operating costs (one-half to one-tenth the cost of traditional systems, depending on application), a larger potential market, better functionality and greater user appeal than existing bike share programs. ViaCycle's flagship product is a technologically advanced �bikeshare in a box�: everything an organization needs to set up seamless first and last-mile transit connectivity. The bicycles are equipped with integrated smart-locks, used to secure the bicycle when not in use. These smart-locks are feature GPS and wireless communications, and are connected to viaCycle's central servers and software system. Program administrators have full access to this system, allowing them to track usage, set up billing, schedule bicycle maintenance and more. Kiosks and bike racks are no longer needed, meaning program operators can place bikes for maximum convenience.
The first full fleet of bikes will be available for use on Emory University�s campus by the summer of 2010. Future plans call for fleets at Georgia Tech and in neighborhoods between both campuses that will integrate with Emory�s system and improve connectivity in the corridor.
Now this...
At ground level, electric cars like GM's Chevrolet Volt -- due to be launched in November 2010 -- are pretty much everything the U.S. economy is banking on. The cars promise innovative engineering and a resurgence of the American auto industry. They mean an America that is manufacturing things rather than just bundling financial instruments. Cosmically, electric cars mean green technologies that will migrate to China, India, and Brazil, where they will allow for Western styles of personal freedom yet not threaten to overheat the earth.
And you don't have to be George Clooney to want one. Electric cars may be vaguely cool, but GM executives are counting on drivers with nothing more than a householder's logic, something like the good sense to refinance a mortgage when the 30-year-fixed drops more than 2 percent. Jon Lauckner, GM's vice president of global product planning, tells me that his team set out to trump gas-powered cars as a matter of straightforward economics, especially as economic recovery pushes the price of gas back over $3 a gallon. "At that level," Lauckner says, "the cost of running a Volt in full electric mode will be about one-sixth that of a gas-driven car of the same size, 2 or 3 cents a mile rather than 12 to 15 cents a mile. We figured that, for most people, this means a savings of about $1,500 a year." Sticker prices will be high; the suggested price of the Volt will be about $40,000. But federal tax rebates are anticipated to be as much as $7,500, not to mention various state incentives. So the actual price will probably be closer to $30,000 -- not a bad deal, given that borrowing costs will be low for some time.
When he speaks of "full electric mode," Lauckner is acknowledging another barrier he expects the Volt to take down, namely range anxiety, the fear of getting stuck with rundown batteries while driving in a snowstorm, bumper to bumper, on a 150-mile trip to the in-laws'. The Volt will come equipped with a small gas engine, unlike its forthcoming competitors: the smaller Nissan Leaf, BMW's plug-in Mini Cooper E, and Ford's electric Focus. This engine will not drive the wheels, as with the hybrids now on the market (actually, GM likes to call the Volt an "extended range electric car," not a hybrid), but will act as a dynamo to supply the electricity for the car after 40 miles of running on stored power. The Volt's designers assumed, per Department of Transportation data, that nearly 80 percent of Americans drive 20 miles or less to work. This is why GM was able to make the technically true but sly announcement that the Volt earned a 230-mpg rating for city driving from the EPA. "Most drivers will hardly ever use this engine," says Tony Posawatz, the Volt's line director. "We may have to educate people to change their oil because it hasn't been used for a year! Anyway, when the range-extending engine kicks in, drivers can go up to 300 miles, like a conventional car. In a pinch, they can make use of the existing gas-station infrastructure."
Connecting the dots I foresee a time when transportation becomes more important than owning a particular car. The world's big cities already have vast populations of people with no need to own cars since they rely on public transportation. New York has had a smaller per person "carbon footprint" than other places for years. A recent report evaluated New York's savings in terms anticipating whatever cap-and-trade metrics are forthcoming.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that its carbon emissions had for the first time been accepted by The Climate Registry and publicly reported on its website. The Climate Registry is a non-profit organization that operates the only North American voluntary greenhouse gas registry. Using the verified figures and a methodology developed by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the MTA has been able to determine that New Yorkers avoid emitting 17.4 million metric tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere because of the MTA's network of subways, buses and commuter trains.
I'm not all that impressed with a cap and trade.system to reduce pollution, but that seems to be the dominant global approach. (Cap and trade is the technological counterpart to the selling of indulgences in the day of Martin Luther which made sinning malleable if the price was right.) But Paul Krugman wrote an essay a couple weeks ago that is slowly changing my mind.
Getting to the punch line, the day is coming when cars can be the transportation equivalent of shopping carts in retail stores or rented luggage carriers at airports. In the same way that bicycles can be used by any number of students to get around on campus, a basic car can furnish the same convenience in town.
I don't know how successful it is, but in Atlanta (and other places) Zipcar is a company conceived to fit into this niche.
I take public transit, but need a car sometimes.
Public transportation (and even cabs) can't always get you where you need to go. With 180 miles included with every reservation, you can find out what's at the end of the line. See what's included- I want to save money.
Zipcar members report an average monthly savings of more than $500 compared to car ownership. Whether you're a car owner or a taxi taker, there are savings to go around. Find out how much you could save- I don't want the hassle of owning a car.
Maybe you're looking to shed a car, or maybe you're looking for a way to never have to own at all. Either way, Zipcars practically take care of themselves: they have parking spaces, plus cleaning and maintenance crews.- I want to do my part to take care of our planet.
Zipcars are good for the planet and the wallet. Each Zipcar takes 15-20 personally owned vehicles off the road. See why Zipcar is a sustainable transportation solution
Once in a while- I need a second car.
Did your spouse or roommate take your car for the day? Hello, Zipcar. Thinking of adding another car to the family? First check out how much you could save by using Zipcar instead. Learn more- I need a big car for a big job.
Reserving Zipcars online (in seconds) beats the heck out of renting a moving truck, or bothering your brother-in-law for his pick up � reserve your own. Find cars (and trucks!)- I want a cute car to match my new shoes.
There's a Zipcar for every moment (and outfit). Go ahead and try them all.- I want to impress my boss.
We have a couple of solutions: take them out in a swanky BMW, or save your company hundreds and hassles by joining Zipcar for Business. We see a promotion in your future. Learn about Zipcar for Business
The working poor have always known that transportation is more economical a la carte. Many of my employees in the food business either paid someone for a ride to and from work or (in emergencies) took a taxi. If you run the numbers you find that it costs a lot per mile simply to own a vehicle even if you never drive it. The purchase price plus interest to buy divided by the number of miles it will go means a car which costs eight thousand dollars will cost a lot more unless the buyer pays cash. If the buyer is out of pocket fifteen thousand dollars and the car lasts for 150,000 miles it cost the owner ten cents a mile to own the car, not counting tags, taxes routine maintenance and operating expenses (gas, tires, oil, etc.).
Reliable transportation of the future will be the all-electric car.
All of which portends the biggest, most contentious business space on the horizon, and for the widest array of start-ups: load distribution on the grid. Most important will be companies helping electric utilities digest what OnStar-like platforms place "at the door" and also help them route electricity from renewable sources back into individual cars. Think of the switching infrastructure that enables us to download a program from an "available" server. Something like this capability will have to be built in to the electric grid.
The most conspicuous start-up by far in this expanding space is GridPoint of Arlington, Virginia. The company has raised more than $220 million, with major investments from Goldman Sachs, among others. (GridPoint has just named Posawatz to its advisory board, which already includes networking guru Esther Dyson and energy expert Daniel Yergin.) GridPoint is working with a number of partners to build the nation's first smart grid, in Boulder, Colorado, a $100 million project. Its near-term ambition, according to its CEO, Peter L. Corsell, is to give utilities the means to aggregate and manage a network of distributed energy resources: controlling load, storing energy, and producing power. "There are perhaps 100 million electrical meters in this country," Corsell says. "We are working with companies that account for 40 million."
At the same time, GridPoint is in discussions with virtually all automotive companies with an electric car in the pipeline. When he dreams out loud, Corsell sees a GridPoint component loaded onto every electric car, the way every laptop contains a signal processor. "In order to balance the load of an electric utility -- predict load, shift the load out of peak periods, shape the load by integrating renewable energy, and so forth -- it would be ideal to have our software baked into the electric cars themselves, so that what gets reported from aggregations of cars will come to utilities in a format that integrates with how the grid is managed. The savings for consumers are not at all trivial when the software allows for real-time, dynamic balancing on the grid. The benchmark equivalent to a gallon of gas during peak hours is somewhere between 60 cents and a dollar. The cost from renewable in the middle of the night is more like 20 cents." Posawatz, for his part, sees a natural division of labor: "We see companies like GridPoint managing what utilities do with data behind the door, providing back to our drivers the charging, billing, and other services that will maximize the cost effectiveness and environment benefit of owning an electric vehicle."
The Great Depression gave us little hamburgers (White Castle, Krystal, Steak and Shake) as well as a business model based on the notion that even in the worst of times people could always scratch up enough to get a cup of coffee and a donut. (Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme)
Perhaps the current Great Recession will leave behind a business model based on electric car rental.
I'm ready.
I have no problem with a generic car parked in the driveway with someone else doing maintenance, insurance, and depreciation. And if it recharges overnight like an electric razor, cell phone or laptop, its more convenient that making a trip to the gas station and going out to dinner with the smell of gasoline on my hands.
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