GoCar has won Best Services Provider at the Sustainable Energy Authority Of Ireland – Energy Show 2018. The award acknowledges both the environmental benefits of car sharing, and the recent growth in the service, which now offers over 400 vehicles across 300 locations in 15 counties to 30,000 members across Ireland.
Delighted for @GoCarIreland who won best service provider at #EnergyShow18 pic.twitter.com/1k5w99jATs
— SEAI (@SEAI_ie) April 18, 2018
GoCar said:
“We’re delighted with the award from the SEAI, as it highlights GoCar as both a convenient and sustainable transport option. We know that 80% of GoCar members don’t own a car; 60% use public transport at least once a week, and over 50% cycle at least once a week. This shows that GoCar members truly embrace the practice of being multi-modal, and this is a different type of behaviour compared to a car owner. If people own a car, they are pretty irrational about how they get about – they are vested in that car. If you break that cycle of car ownership, people make the right decision about where walking is the best, or cycling, using public transport, or occasionally using carsharing.”
“By allowing multiple people to use the same vehicle at different times, car sharing reduces car ownership & car dependency, congestion, noise and air pollution, and frees up land traditionally used for parking spaces. Each GoCar replaces approximately 20 private cars, is environmentally friendly, and creates more liveable cities by encouraging people to sell their cars and only use a car when essential, while walking and using public transport more often too. International studies have also shown a reduction in the number of KMs travelled per year of more than 60% for car-sharing users.”
The SEAI Energy Show award coincides with lots of progress recently for car sharing as a sustainable transport option in Ireland, including a trial of 10 electric vehicles on GoCar has had over 1,500 different people driving EVs regularly, as well as the inclusion of car sharing in Planning Applications.
Since the launch of our EV range over 1200 GoCar members have got to sit behind the wheel of an electric vehicle. Soon to become the new normal in Ireland. #DrivingElectric https://t.co/pKnrCCadXJ pic.twitter.com/7hJNnpOj9Q
— GoCar (@GoCarIreland) April 19, 2018
The Department Of Housing’s updated Design Standards for New Apartments highlight that “for all types of location, where it is sought to eliminate or reduce car parking provision… provision is also to be made for alternative mobility solutions including facilities for car sharing club vehicles.” Planning has already been approved for several schemes which include car sharing vehicles. This unbundling separates parking costs from rents or sale prices, allowing residents to choose how much parking they want – and ensuring that non-car owners do not pay for parking they neither want nor need. Unbundling residential parking costs from the cost of housing can significantly reduce household vehicle ownership and parking demand.
