Tag Archives: car sharing
Kandi Crush: An Electric-Car Vending Machine From China Could Upend The Auto Industry
Taxi service apps could be hit by a proposed ban on GPS metering
Taxi and car-sharing apps which quote for journeys based on GPS data could find themselves outlawed by regulators. Transport authorities across fifteen US and Canadian cities are looking at a set of rules that would prohibit anything except physical metering to calculate the cost of a trip. The proposals would also put the kibosh on demand pricing, whereby quotes automatically rise when more people are making bookings, and also on the use of drivers who don't have proper taxi licenses. Some of these practices are already banned in a number of states, and in fact three online transport services -- Zimride, SideCar and our old friend Uber -- were fined in California this week precisely for allowing unqualified hands to take the wheel. If the current proposals are adopted, the role of smartphones would likely be restricted to hailing regular taxis or putting electric money into traditional cabbies' pockets.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Mobile
Taxi service apps could be hit by a proposed ban on GPS metering originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 11:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsBMW DriveNow EV car sharing comes to San Francisco Bay Area, ParkNow follows suit
BMW kicked off its DriveNow car sharing service in its home country last year to see if urban EV rentals would catch on. Something must have clicked in Germany, as the automaker is exporting the concept to the San Francisco Bay Area as of September. DriveNow's initial fleet of 70 ActiveE vehicles will rely on a different business model after getting its American visa: the service drops the strictly by-the-minute model of the German operation in favor of a $12 base fee for a half-hour's trip, with a 32 cents per minute rate kicking in only during longer drives. Travelers will have to drop off the cars at specified stations, too. There's a consolation for the trouble through a ParkNow reservation service, which locks in a parking space at a guaranteed rate and navigates there through an iPhone app or the web. Just be aware that those spaces will be limited -- only eight DriveNow stations and 14 ParkNow lots are active, which doesn't afford a lot of free roaming even after discounting the lack of immediate plans for other US cities. We're nonetheless glad that Bay Area locals without their own ride will have an easier time staying green for their cross-city jaunts.
Continue reading BMW DriveNow EV car sharing comes to San Francisco Bay Area, ParkNow follows suit
Filed under: Transportation
BMW DriveNow EV car sharing comes to San Francisco Bay Area, ParkNow follows suit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsTiny Car Tower of Power
What you’re about to take a look at is a vehicle that may be shorter and more to the point than any car you’ve yet experience. This is the eSetta, inspired by the legendary BMW Isetta, made to be as compact as possible with its intent being set for the car sharing environment across the earth. Will its bright red and yellow accents be enough to entice you to get tiny?
This vehicle is inductively charged at sharing hubs which sit around your city, these places being where, like similar bicycle hubs, you’ll be able to unlock and drive a vehicle to your next destination and back – no sweat! The front door has a slide and rotate ability that allows you the driver to enter and exit via the sidewalk – frosting on the pie!
Have a peek and see if you’d be willing to ride one of these sassy little numbers around your local city!
Designer: Tony Weichselbraun
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(Tiny Car Tower of Power was originally posted on Yanko Design)
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