Need a ride? BMW’s new car sharing service gets you behind the wheel in two minutes

If you happen to live in Seattle, Washington, you’re in luck — there’s a brand new way to get around town. Today, BMW announced the launch of a new car sharing service called ReachNow, a “free-floating” program that allows commuters to get a ride in two minutes or less.

A fleet of 370 BMW-owned vehicles including the i3, 3 Series, and Mini Cooper is being spread throughout The Emerald City as you read this, and the German brand has plans to expand ReachNow to three other cities in 2016. In total, the service hopes to serve 10 North American metro areas in the future.

“We are currently witnessing an extremely exciting period in the development of the automotive industry,” said BMW’s Peter Schwarzenbauer. “Our customers rightly expect uncomplicated and fast solutions to their individual mobility needs, especially in metropolitan regions. This is why we are supplementing our classic business model with additional services that make life on the road easier for people in big cities.”

To use ReachNow, interested parties can download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play, after which they register their information and initiate the two-minute approval process. After that, users locate the closest vehicle to them, reserve it for use, and get behind the wheel. Seems pretty simple, right?

BMW ReachNow

“I am pleased that with the establishment of the ReachNow brand, we are able to offer our customers in Seattle “on-demand mobility” — mobility when it’s needed, from one single source,” continued Schwarzenbauer. “With this service, we are building up on Drive Now, our extremely successful European business model, and bringing it up to a new level in the U.S. Seattle is an innovative, internationally-oriented city which makes it the perfect location to launch these services.”

All ReachNow vehicles have a rate of 49 cents per minute while the car is in use and 30 cents per minute when parked. For the introductory period, however, ReachNow will charge 41 cents per minute of use and parking is free, but there is a one-time registration fee of $39 as well.

In addition to car sharing, ReachNow will offer a variety of other mobility programs in 2016 including delivery services, on-hand airport vehicles, longer rentals, corporate rates, a chauffeur service, and a platform that enables car owners to rent out their own rides through ReachNow.

Interested in learning more about ReachNow? Our own Miles Branman trekked up to Seattle to give the service a try for himself, so stay tuned for his first-look impressions.

from Planet GS via John Jason Fallows on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1qALxMU
Andrew Hard