Car-sharing service launched by BMW in Seattle

Car-sharing, while still not widely popular, is on the rise. Services like Car2Go or ZipCar have proven that people have a desire for renting a car for shorter amounts of time. Things like free gas and insurance are great perks, especially when renting a car.

When renting a car in the traditional sense: one is responsible for gas and insurance in addition to the actual daily renter’s fee. Some drivers only want to rent a car for one or two trips. Car-sharing services prosper well in a place like New York City or San Fransisco, where apartment dwellers don’t even have driveways, it’s inconvenient to be responsible for parking a car overnight.

ReachNow is launching with a fleet of 370 cars which will give drivers a variety of Mini Cooper (2 or 4 door), BMW 3 Series, or fully electric i3 to drive around the city. These cars can be picked up and dropped off at anywhere within the city which offers pre-approved parking areas. Unlike ZipCar, which requires you to pick up and return the car at the same place, ReachNow will allow one-way rentals.

BMW says signing up for ReachNow only takes a few minutes and you can be driving away in a car in the same amount of time. All you need to do is find an available car with the app, unlock the car with your smartphone remotely, then start it up and drive away. Now if only Reach Now could bring its fleet of premium cars to New York.

Source | Via