Reaching 10,000 sign-ups is a huge achievement for GoCar

A NEW pay-per-trip car sharing service called GoCar has seen a monthly increase of 15 per cent in Tallaght trips since setting up base in the local shopping centre last March.

Earlier this month, GoCar announced that it had clocked 10,000 sign-ups since launching in 2008, a “significant milestone” which the company believes makes car sharing more accessible to drivers across Dublin.

The innovative idea steered by GoCar operates on a pay-per-trip basis allowing members the freedom to access a vehicle – by simply swiping their bank card and entering their unique pin number to release the keys.

With no parking costs incurred for the use of GoCar vehicles, users can instead, according to GoCar, budget for the essential vehicle trip they wish to make without the stress and cost associated with NCT testing, vehicle servicing, motor tax and insurance premiums. 

The company has this month eliminated its monthly subscription fee of €50 and introduced a new pay-as-you-go pricing system, which offers new limited membership to the public for €10.

The new scheme will allow customers to drive a GoCar vehicle from €8 per hour, with drivers also benefiting from free parking at any Dublin City pay-and-display parking space and no expense for fuel.

The company set up a base at The Square last March, with GoCar trips in Tallaght increasing by 15 per cent on average each month since the base launch.

A spokeswoman for GoCar also told The Echo how the company is currently in talks with South Dublin County Council to start a pilot scheme with on-street car sharing for residents, with more GoCar bases in Tallaght planned for the near future.

The car sharing provider recently launched its ‘Suggest a Location’ feature, encouraging the public to recommend new GoCar base locations, with cars added in Citywest over the last few months

According to General Manager of GoCar Jonathan Roche: “Reaching 10,000 sign-ups is a huge achievement for us and a significant milestone in the GoCar journey since we launched in 2008.

“As the public continues to seek smarter and more affordable methods of transport we hope that car sharing will be considered by more and more people as a practical alternative to car ownership.

“Our new pay-as-you-go option and sign-up fee will hopefully enable more drivers to get a sense of the car sharing experience and see if it works for them.”

To avail of GoCar’s new membership fee and pay-as-you-go pricing visit Gocar.ie