Ford’s GoDrive car-sharing service will is available London.Ford is introducing GoDrive for on-demand use and to learn emerging mobility trends and customers’ car-sharing habits.
GoDrive is the only car-sharing service offering one-way trips with guaranteed parking. The project started as an experiment from Ford Smart Mobility.
Users book their drive through an iPhone app and pay with pay-by-minute pricing covers that congestion fees, insurance and fuel. Drivers use a smartphone app to reserve and access a car. Half of the fleet consists of Focus Electric vehicles. There are additional charges if the car is not returned to correct location, cleaning fees and fee is vehicle part or accessories are missing.
To participate drivers must permanent resident of the UK, holding a full UK or EU license and at least 21 years of age or over but under 70 years of age. The cost is 17p per minute (approximately £5 per 30 minutes or £10 per hour). Currently drivers can only book rentals 15 minutes in advance.
The pilot experiment launched with 100 registered members accessing Focus Electric or Fiesta 1.0-litre EcoBoost models from secure parking hubs near major public transport locations, such as Waterloo and Victoria railway stations. Ford now is inviting 2,000 people to register for a free expanded service offering 50 cars across 20 central London locations including Waterloo, Barbican, Leicester Square, Marylebone and Victoria.
Feedback has been positive. Users like access to Ford SYNC and parking assistance features. Members also highlighted the convenience of a one-charge, pay-as-you-go system.
Ford also is exploring car-sharing experiments in the U.S including:
- Car Swap, Dearborn, U.S.: Participating Ford employees use a mobile app that allows them to search for a vehicle that meets their needs and negotiate terms of the swap.
- Dynamic Shuttle, New York and London: Exploring a shareable service that will offer point-to-point pick-up and drop-off on-demand.