Car-sharing vehicles available nearby in five minutes

Problem

Privately owned cars sit unused a lot. At the same time, many Finns drive cars that are considerably over 10 years old and produce more emissions than newer cars. In addition, the construction of car parks according to building regulations prevents land resources being put to other uses and increases construction costs.

Solution: a shared car in five minutes

24 Rental Network rents shared-use cars to individuals, companies and cities. The company has developed a service platform for cars in shared use that other operators (e.g. car retailers) may also use. The cars are placed in locations that people frequent and renting them does not require a separate visit to a service desk. With the 24Rent service, the car is booked online, picked up using a mobile phone and dropped off at the pickup location once the customer is finished using it. A majority of the cars are hybrid vehicles. The vehicles of the company’s new Go now! service operate on a rate-per-minute basis and they can also be dropped off at a different location from where they were picked up. One shared car could replace the need for between 3 and 25 privately owned cars, depending on the evaluation method.

Revenue logic and benefits to 24Rent

24 Rental Network’s business is based on renting cars on the internet without sustaining physical offices or a large number of employees. This allows the service to be scaled quickly. The company leases the cars, which allows it to avoid committing a large amount of capital to buying cars.

Benefits to customers and end users

24Rent and Go now! services reduce the need for consumers to buy a car of their own. With 24Rent, the car can be rented in a flexible manner when you need it and with no monthly commitment. At the same time, you do not have to worry about other motoring-related costs, such as maintenance and insurance policies. Go now! complements public transport, for example, by offering a more flexible method for short-term renting, where the car does not have to be returned to where it was picked up. Relying on a shared-use vehicle instead of a privately owned car is also likely to increase people’s exercise levels and the positive health effects that result from more considerate car use.