Ireland’s population is generally in agreement about perhaps only one thing – the cost of living is getting ridiculously, even dangerously, expensive. Housing and car ownership are becoming ever more outrageous, but at least car ownership is optional in cities. Car share services are getting more popular as people realise that pay as you go isn’t just for mobile phones.
In July, Dublin launched an annual Car Share Day supported by Go Car, Yuko, EM (Enterprise Mobility), Herz and DriveYou. At the kick off event, Lord Mayor James Geohagan pointed out that the cost of keeping a family car on the road is around €10,000, which is made even more painful by the fact that 60% of all trips are 15 minutes or less.
If you’re curious about car sharing, you don’t have to wait until next July for a chance to check it out. September offers a few chances for Dubliners to dip their toes in the car share pool.
Dublin Climate Action Week runs from September 9-15, and shared mobility operators are offering discounts to entice folks to give bike and car sharing a try. Bleeper Bike, Bolt Bikes, DriveYou, EM, GoCar, Hertz Car Share, Moby Bikes, and Yuko are all participating.
Bike and car sharing isn’t an entirely new concept. Cities around the world have had various bike share schemes in place for many years, and GoCar launched in Ireland back in 2008. The concept of shared mobility has been gradually gaining ground, but the powerful combination of sophisticated apps and increased working from home might be what’s put our collective foot on the accelerator.
Organising your car share is fairly easy now, and without a daily commute, the need for a car dwindles significantly. Perhaps you only need a car to drive to the office once or twice a week now and maybe a few times a year for a staycation or weekend break. Or maybe you really only use your family’s second car for a child’s once-a-week activity and a weekly big shop, which means you only need that car for one afternoon a week. That doesn’t really justify spending €10k plus the cost of buying a car. (We won’t even get into how not battling your neighbours for the good parking spots improves your quality of life.)
We’re all aware of the growing threat of climate change. Minimising driving is a powerful action we can all take to help, and thankfully it isn’t all or nothing. You don’t have to give up driving entirely when you have access to a car share service that allows you to drive when you need to without the cost and hassle of owning a car. Fewer cars on the road also means that driving is easier when we do need to get behind the wheel.
How well does bike and car sharing work in real life? RTE reported recently reported that 20% of GoCar’s customers gave up car ownership, and half use the service instead of owning a second car.
By Irene Hislop
By Jeff Sheridan