GoCar Launch Dedicated Fleet For Parking-less Developments

GoCar the car sharing initiative which provides short-term, pay-as-you-go car rental in Dublin and Cork, have introduced a new ‘Dedicated Fleet’ service which allows property developers and management companies offer a pool car to residents or companies in their buildings. With numerous ‘parking-less’ or ‘parking-lite’ developments emerging, including Poolbeg and Cherrywood, the move from private car ownership to multimodal transport is becoming increasingly important. This option of providing a dedicated GoCar is aimed at giving residents or companies access to a vehicle at all times, a guaranteed vehicle on-site with fuel, tax, insurance and maintenance all covered in the rental fee.

Dedicated Fleet by GoCar operates like a traditional corporate car pool scheme but specifically for residents in a particular development; the keys are in the
car at all times, and insurance is paid for by individuals on a per-trip basis. This service has helped with the move to parking-less developments in London and other European cities and continues to be a growing trend. In a recent survey of GoCar members, over 50% said they would buy a car if GoCar did not exist, showing that car-sharing has a proven track record of reducing congestion and emissions while delivering value to customers.

Dublin city parking is under serious pressure, with new projects such as the Luas Cross City causing the permanent loss of over 400 parking bays. In the inner
city, an individual off-street parking space can cost anywhere from €25,000 – €70,000 each – an expense which is fast becoming unsustainable for developers and management companies.

General manager of GoCar Jonathan Roche told Irish Tech News
“This dedicated car club is ideal for commercial and residential developments, as management companies can give staff and residents access to a selection of
vehicles with each driver being insured through GoCar. If a management company wanted to arrange this themselves, they would need to take out a personal policy for each person who may be driving the car, and manually keep a log of each time the car is used in case of an accident. GoCar’s bespoke software removes these issues and provides management companies and users with a simple solution to get them on the road.

“To offer a solution to parking-less developments in Dublin city, but to do so we must continue to demonstrate that other modes of transport are sufficient
for the needs of residents. With this in mind, we are keen to highlight that car-sharing is just one more option in the toolkit of how you create good mobility in the city and move from car ownership to encouraging several different modes of transport.”