Irish car-sharing company GoCar is to increase the number of counties it operates in from two to 18 following a €3 million investment.
The announcement coincides with European Mobility Week 2017, which is calling on European citizens to embrace sustainable, shared transport methods such as car sharing in order to reduce transport expenses and lower carbon emissions.
New partnerships with Irish Rail and local authorities throughout Ireland have led to an expansion of services beyond Dublin and Cork to include Galway, Limerick, Kildare, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wicklow.
“The new Irish Rail bases will make it easier for commuters in Ireland to combine rail travel with car sharing and thereby embrace multi-model, sustainable transport with reduced dependency on private cars,” the company said in a statement.
In the run-up to its 10th anniversary next year, GoCar announced a further €6 million investment to double its fleet by 2018, bringing the total number of GoCars to over 600 across Ireland.
GoCar reached 10,000 memberships in February and introduced its GoElectric electric vehicle fleet in 2016. Dedicated parking spaces were introduced in Dublin city centre in 2015.
In the past year the company has doubled its fleet, members and monthly trip average.
The firm said it hoped to continue its service expansion and that it was seeking input from other local authorities to make car sharing available to everyone in Ireland.
Beyond the big smoke
Minister for Transport Shane Ross said the provision of accessible transport, not just in cities but also in towns and rural areas, was of "huge importance".
“I’m delighted that GoCar is expanding its car-sharing service beyond the ‘big smoke’ cities of Dublin and Cork and into 16 more counties,” he said.
“As well as reducing travel costs, traffic congestion and carbon footprints, the new partnerships between GoCar, Irish Rail and numerous county councils will allow commuters to combine rail and car sharing, enhancing travel experiences and allow for much more social mobility.”
GoCar managing director Colm Brady said: “We have made considerable progress in improving accessibility to car sharing and hope to continue expanding until car sharing is available in as many parts of Ireland as possible.
“We are aiming to once again double our fleet in 2018 to over 600 shared cars. To achieve this, we’re calling on local authorities to make space available for residents to access additional shared cars, and thereby facilitate continued development of sustainable transport in Ireland.”
