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Car-sharing vehicles billed by the minute

The shift in transportation habits from car ownership to mobility services is significantly changing the earning models of both car manufacturers and the banking and insurance sector. As a solution, in collaboration with BMW Group, OP brought DriveNow city cars to the streets of the Helsinki metropolitan area in May 2017. In February 2019, DriveNow merged with car2go city car service into a new SHARE NOW service.

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Problem

Various costs result from buying, using and servicing a car. In cities, finding a parking space may take a long time, too. On average, a car of one’s own sits unused for 95 per cent of the time, while its value goes down fast.

Solution: shared-use cars with a minute-based fee

SHARE NOW provides cars in the city of Helsinki, charged by the minute. The car is available whenever you need it – just a few clicks in an app and you can reserve a car, open or lock its doors and be on the road within a few seconds. The service operates on the principle of “free-floating”, which means that after you no longer need the car, you can park it anywhere within the service’s operating area.

OP’s revenue logic and benefits

In addition to the minute-based or package-based user charge, customers pay a registration fee when joining the service. SHARE NOW works in close collaboration with cities to reduce the damage caused by traffic and emissions and to promote the electrification of transport. In Finland, the service is provided by OP Co-ride Oy.

Benefits to customers

The service offers the opportunity to use a car for occasional needs, both for short trips in the city or longer day trips. The price of the service includes all expenses incurred from driving and the customer does not need to take care of parking fees, servicing or filling up the car or charging up an electric car. It has been estimated that a city car replaces eight privately owned cars, which reduces the problems caused by parking and traffic.

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