- Daily & Weekly newsletters
- Buy & download The Bulletin
- Comment on our articles
Related articles
Recent
Popular
Car-sharing companies encouraged to 'free-float' in Brussels
Car-sharing companies in Brussels are from today invited to apply to take part in 'free-floating', or allowing customers to leave the cars at a parking space of their choice within the Brussels-Capital Region. The new system means that the cars are no longer bound to particular stations, which should greatly simplify their use by customers, writes Bruzz.
The new Brussels regulation to make free-floating possible goes into force today, which means interested companies can now submit their applications. Because the participating companies' cars are no longer tied to individual stations, an app allows users to locate the nearest cars and let others know where they've left a car after using it.
With free-floating, the Region aims to reduce the number of parked vehicles and vehicles in circulation. "It's a new mobility solution for Brussels," Brussels mobility minister Pascal Smet told Bruzz. "It is already a very accessible service for customers, who pay according to the number of kilometres travelled," he added.
Three international companies so far have expressed interest in expanding to Brussels since free-floating became available: Car2Go, Zipcar and DriveNow. Cambio, Brussels' largest car-sharing company, has said it will first wait to see how well the system works before making a decision.
Comments
I don't see how this is going to work. I use Cambio once a week, have done so for years, and I always book for the same time and the same station (200 metres from my home). I book weeks in advance (do let's say eight bookings at the same time, for the coming two months). If this system is implemented, I would never know if the car I've booked really is at the station I expect it to be in, or if it has been left somewhere else. I guess I would be informed about 10-15 minutes in advance where the car is, and would then have to make a mad scramble to get there (it could be somewhere I've never even been to and don't know how to get there).