Electric Car Sharing Service TakesSmarter Transport Award

23 November 2018 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Zealands First Fully Electric Car Sharing Service Takes Sustainable Business Network Smarter Transport Award

Christchurch based car sharing service Yoogo Share has won the Smarter Transport Award at the 2018 Sustainable Business Network Awards. are thrilled to have taken the Smarter Transport Award at the 2018 Sustainable Business Network awards.

650 people attended the black tie NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards dinner in Auckland last night to find out what businesses were leading sustainability in the country. Yoogo Share were up against Waste Management NZ, Civic Contractors, Enviro NZ, Tranzit Group, Yoogo Share and Mevo for the Smarter Transport Award.

Judges said they were impressed with the companies bold launch of 100 pure electric vehicles in Christchurch, offering shared electric vehicles to both business and private members. The service, which was officially launched by Lianne Dalziel and Jacinda Ardern in February, has just reached a milestone of 80 tonnes of carbon savings, so it was a double celebration for the car sharing service at the awards.

Kirsten Corson, General Manager of Yoogo Share, acknowledged the outstanding vision and support from Christchurch City Council which started working with the company in 2016 to deliver a city wide pure electric car sharing service – the first of its kind in Australasia.

Christchurch City Council has exited 55 combustion vehicles from their fleet, alongside a number of other local businesses including Warren and Mahoney, Meridian Energy and Aurecon who are using the shared electric fleet as an alternative to pool cars, taxis and rental cars. Christchurch City Council is the only council in the country to made this level of commitment to electric vehicle technology to date.

The Yoogo Share scheme offers Hyundai IONIQs and BMW i3s in 8 different hubs around the city and has become a popular choice for over 4,000 business and private members. At $14.50/hr it’s even more affordable than using a Lime Scooter.

When Corson was asked about Lime Scooters she is very positive saying “Mobility is like a jig saw puzzle, and its great to see a number of sustainable options available for Cantabrians. We are already seeing members jumping on a Lime Scooter to get to one of our hubs, going out for a couple of hours in a Yoogo Share car and Scootering home.”

Corson goes on to say “With CO2 emissions at an all time high and the World Health Organisation estimating that 4.6 million people dying each year from air pollution related diseases, our customers do really get a feel good factor by driving a pure electric vehicle. Not only are they really good fun to drive, but they enjoy doing their little bit to create a better environment.

Car Sharing is a well established transport option in Europe and North America, where on average 9 cars are removed from the road for every shared car that is made available. Corson confirms that Yoogo Share has already seen members sell their second car, or selling their only car, to use the fleet of shared electric cars.

Uptake of EVs is increasing in New Zealand with over 10,000 vehicles currently registered.

The EV World South Expo is open to public on Saturday at the New Zealand Air Force Museum in Wigram, allowing punters to learn about the latest electric vehicles, related services and products currently on the market.

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