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Swiss private car-sharing programme expands

The Local
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Swiss private car-sharing programme expands
Photo: AFP

Sharoo, a car-sharing programme pioneered in Switzerland, is beginning to zoom ahead with an expansion recently launched in French-speaking cantons.

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The platform allows private individuals to rent out their vehicles when they are not using them and it enables people who do not own a car to have economical access to one when needed.

The Zurich-based company was launched in 2013 with the m-way subsidiary of cooperative retailer Migros as majority shareholder.

It expects to have 10,000 users signed up to its internet platform by the end of the year.

Sharoo says that what makes its programme unique is the “Access Kit” conceived and developed by m-way that enables users with an app to locate and book the vehicles they want using their cellphones.

Once the kit is installed — a 30-minute procedure at partner garages — “users can even unlock and lock the vehicles they rent without a key, making it unnecessary for the owner and user to arrange a meeting to exchange the key,” Sharoo says on its website.

See also: How to buy a car in Switzerland

Apart from its use by individuals, companies can use the feature to operate their fleets in a more efficient way, the company says.

Sharoo says its platform allows car owners to determine for themselves who can have access to their vehicles and at what price and under what conditions of use.

The company describes its programme as a “sustainable, contemporary form of mobility” that can make better use of vehicles that spend a lot of time simply parked on the street or in garages, while reducing the number of vehicles on Swiss roads.

And it offers users a potentially unlimited choice of vehicles to meet different needs.

The sharoo venture is an offshoot for m-way, which is primarily involved in the sale and rent of electric bikes and accessories.

Swiss insurer Die Mobiliar and Mobility, a cooperative that operates a more conventional car-sharing business with vehicles that it owns, are minority shareholders in the business.

For more information (in English), check here.

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