A new car sharing service with fully electric vehicles has been launched at Gatwick Airport.
Operated by car sharing specialist Bluecity, the service is said to be a first for any UK airport.
Passengers, staff and local residents can reserve and pick up one of the 10 cars available, and return it to any of 300 pick up/drop off points across London or back at Gatwick.
The service also works both ways, so that those travelling to Gatwick from the capital can pick up a car at any of Bluecity’s London-based charging points and drop it off at the airport. A drive from Central London to the front of the airport will cost around £15 in moderate traffic.
Customers can reserve a car in seconds via the Bluecity app.
Bluecity already operates a pan-London electric vehicle car sharing service, with a fleet of 100 cars. The company is also holding discussions with local authorities and business groups about expanding the network further in London and in areas surrounding the airport, with a view to doubling its fleet to more than 200 cars across the capital.
Car makers themselves are also getting involved in car sharing, with Germany’s Volkswagen and France-based PSA both recently announcing plans to launch all-electric car sharing services.
PSA plans to begin its service in Paris by the last quarter of 2018, initially with a fleet of 500 Peugeot and Citroën electric vehicles.
VW’s service is expected to launch in Germany in 2019 before extending to major cities in Europe, North America and Asia as early as 2020.
Tags: electric car, electric transportation, electric vehicles, intelligent transport, robotics, Transport