GM announced a car-sharing program at the Ritz Plaza apartments called Let’s Drive NYC that is available to eligible residents.
Residents use a GM-developed mobile app to reserve a vehicle and access parking in one of 200 garages throughout Manhattan managed by Icon Parking Systems. The fleet currently includes eight Chevrolet Trax small SUVs and two Chevrolet Equinox compact SUVs, with more vehicles to be added later.
In consideration of periodic apartment lease payments, residents receive electronic credits valid for three hours of rental per month. After that, users pay less than $10 an hour or up to $75 for a 24-hour reservation.
“Having a car in the city didn’t seem realistic, but ‘Let’s Drive NYC’ changes that,” said Andy Chediak, a 32 year-old Stonehenge resident.
Let’s Drive NYC offers integrated and existing OnStar connectivity technologies and services such as remote diagnostic status, and access to OnStar advisors with the push of a button.
Let’s Drive NYC is just one part of GM’s global urban mobility strategy, evolving to meet customer needs
GM offered the program earlier this summer to select Ritz Plaza residents who completed more than 100 trips and drove nearly 20,000 miles in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut tri-state area. Based on the pilot program, GM, Stonehenge and Icon were quick to broaden the program.
Stonehenge the company that owns and manages the Ritz Plaza offers community-building events within the Manhattan residential market. It provides residents with complimentary programming ranging from comedy and trivia nights to concerts. Incorporating Let’s Drive NYC helps achieve Stonehenge’s goal of offering amenities that encourage interaction among residents.
GM’s urban mobility programs range from investments in Germany of ridesharing service flinc and Opel’s new car-sharing community CarUnity to testing Zagster bike sharing at its Technical Center in the U.S. and a partnership with Jiao Tong University in China to integrate Chevrolet EN-V 2.0 vehicles into a multi-modal transportation system. All are designed to better understand and address urban transportation issues for customers.
GM partnered with h Google early last year, where it tested a commuter ride-sharing service using Chevrolet Spark