The Maltese population and its expat community are embracing new concepts of transport mobility, with more than 36,000 persons registering with ride pooling company Cool in 2020, which was the company’s first full calendar year of operations.
For a country traditionally dependent on the use of the personal vehicle, such take-up reflected a very strong start for such an innovative concept, particularly throughout a year which has seen a significant rise in teleworking and reduced commercial activity, thereby reducing the need for commuting in general.
Data collected by the company in 2020 shows the significant positive environmental impact arising through shared trips taken by commuters who reached their destinations in the comfort of a Cool ride, lowering levels of pollution, mitigating road congestion and reducing parking infrastructure demand.
In one year, ride-pooling has ensured a reduction of some one million vehicle kilometres which would have otherwise been travelled by single-occupancy vehicles. These shared rides have reduced some 250,000 in carbon dioxide emissions from being dispersed in our environment.
Laura Jasenaite, Chief Executive Officer at Cool, welcomed these positive results: “My objective in leading the team at Cool as it set up its operations on the island was to bring tangible changes to Malta’s mobility environment. We were confident of the social and environmental benefits that our offering would lead to, but considering the setbacks of the pandemic, we are delighted with our results and growth.
People are becoming more aware of the impact on climate change and the increasing need for flexibility in our daily mobility, and in such a context, they are seeing in Cool ride-pooling an alternative solution to reach their destination in a timely, efficient and environmentally-conscious manner”.