Celebrating 10 years of GoCar

Launched in Ireland in 2008, GoCar has grown over the past 10 years to become Ireland’s largest car sharing service. Today, we operate a fleet of over 450 cars across hundreds of locations nationwide and have more than 30,000 members. With multimodal transport solutions vital to urban development and sustainable growth, we believe that car sharing will continue to play an important role in the movement towards a more flexible, efficient and environmentally friendly approach to everyday transport in the future.

To mark 10 years of car sharing in Ireland and explore transport trends and predictions for the future, we held a fantastic 10 Year Anniversary event in Dublin City Council’s Woodquay Venue with a keynote address from Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross TD, and panel discussion chaired by Newstalk’s Vincent Wall with the following panelists:

• Colm Brady, Managing Director GoCar & Europcar Mobility Group Ireland
• Sheila Struyck, Managing Director BU New Mobility, Europcar Mobility Group
• Dr Cara Augustenborg, Lecturer in Climate Change and Environment, University College Dublin
• Anne Graham, Chief Executive Officer, National Transport Authority
• Owen Keegan, Chief Executive, Dublin City Council

If you’re interested in watching the full event and panel discussion :

Prior to celebrating our 10 year anniversary we did some research into the changing opinions on mobility in Ireland. Below are our findings:

Car ownership
• 51% believe the cost of car ownership (including tax, insurance, fuel, and general maintenance) is the most stressful thing about owning a car, while 20% believe it is finding suitable and affordable insurance
• 68% believe the biggest barrier preventing them from living without a car is the lack of viable and affordable transport alternatives
• 66% believe we need to reduce the number of cars on Irish roads to ease traffic congestion and protect the environment
• 63% believe too many people rely on their own cars as a primary mode of transport

Car sharing
• 39% said the current cost of insurance premiums would make them consider car sharing rather than owning a car
• Factors most likely to encourage car sharing:
• 48% more cost effective than owning a car
• 20% more environmentally friendly than owning a car
• 16% quick and easy to access car sharing vehicles
• 16% convenient as a second family car

Public transport
• 66% think population increase will strain public transport
• 52% are dissatisfied with the quality and quantity of public transport options available to them (this drops to 40% among only Dublin-based respondents)
• 25% of current car owners could comfortably live their daily lives using public transport and car sharing instead of owning a car (this rises to 37% among only Dublin-based respondents)

Public transport improvement which will have the greatest impact:
• 45% drink link plan for rural communities
• 25% BusConnects plan for Dublin Bus network
• 17% recent Luas extension
• 13% proposed Metro North

Future transport
• 68% believe Irish drivers should choose transport that limits long-term environmental damage
• 57% are nervous about driverless cars and their potential dangers
• 39% would consider using a driverless vehicle in the future
• 34% would like to see driverless public transport technology in the future