On Monday, Sharonomy launched CarAmigo, the first Belgian car-sharing platform for private individuals. The platform is already taking vehicle registrations although bookings are expected to open in February 2015, on condition the car pool reaches between 200 and 300 vehicles. Vehicle owners will pocket almost 70% of the price they set the car share at.
Considering a car is used on average only 5% of the time and that the monthly cost to own said car is around 350 euros, the founder of CarAmigo, Alex Gaschard, is eager to stress that the initiative will help to reduce the actual cost of having a car: "This system is already well established in France, the Netherlands and Germany. Drivy, one of the 6 or 7 car-share companies, has grown its car pool to 20,000 vehicles in the space of 3 years. People using Drivy can car share across all areas of Belgium, whereas Cambio is concentrated in the cities. Cambio is extremely popular and well used; we complement each other. CarAmigo targets shares lasting an afternoon to a couple of days. (...) Autopia, in Flanders, is currently helping potential car-sharers acquire group vehicles."
A study by Alix Partners claims that car-sharing initiatives would reduce the number of cars on the road by 32 per shared car.
Every CarAmigo vehicle is covered by a comprehensive insurance policy, liability insurance and legal aid, in addition to 24/7 roadside assistance. Each potential member is screened. Payment is taken on a secure platform at the time of booking.
In the long term, Sharonomy aims to launch other products on the collaborative consumption model.
(Source: Belga)
