Five Meath towns to trial new car sharing service

A shared car service will be launched in Meath next month after Meath County Council agreed a six month trial with GoCar. Anyone with a current driving licence can register and use the cars on a pay per trip basis.
Five locations will be part of the pilot- Trim, Navan, Kells, Ratoath and Ashbourne. A car will be delivered to each of these locations and a second car will be considered for Navan should there be sufficiient uptake of the service. The launch will take place to coincide with European Mobility Week, which runs from 16th to 22nd September.  The target is to take 10 to 15 cars off the road for each GoCar.

The pilot scheme has been welcomed by Cllr Noel French who thanked the council for taking this initiative.  “I became aware of GoCar though Brian Hayes MEP and the council was already in negotiation with GoCar. “Cars are one of our major polluters and GoCar reduces car dependency, congestion, noise and air pollution. GoCar is a car sharing initiative, anyone with a current drivers licence can register and then use the cars on a pay-per-trip basis 24/7, 365 days a year which allows users the freedom to access a vehicle where and when they need it,” he said.
“The success of the pilot will be measured on the popularity of the service judged by how many people are using it.  The target with GoCar is to remove 10-15 cars private cars off the road for each GoCar, and to do this they’d hope to see 25-30+ people using the car regularly, plus others using it sporadically. With this type of usage, GoCar would deem the pilot viable and may even take the opportunity to expand the service.”
Car sharing allows people to rent cars for as little as €8 an hour, using a booking system to reserve the vehicle and in-car technology to unlock the car and drive. It is ideal for people who only need occasional access to vehicle and don’t want to own one. Fuel, tax, insurance and maintenance are all included.
Car sharing allows those who cannot afford a car the opportunity to drive on a pay-per use basis. Each shared car has been proven to replace between 10-15 private cars, as well as increasing use of public transport.
GoCar has been operating since 2008, with over 8,000 members and 160 cars in Dublin and & Cork. There is a once-off sign up fee of €10 with rates from €8 per hour. For more info, see www.gocar.ie/faqs or email info@gocar.ie