“Our long-term goal is to get people out of their vehicles and encourage them to utilise ride-pooling, so we would have less traffic in the streets of Malta. This can only be done if we make mobility efficient and financially cheaper than maintaining a car, while the same convenience is offered for passengers,” Laura Jasenaite, CEO of Cool Ride-Pooling, tells BM.

The platform is powered by ride-pooling solution provider ViaVan, which application’s algorithms match passengers travelling in the same direction and finds the optimal route for their trip within a travel zone.

“Having a reliable and well-working technology is inevitable for reducing waiting times and offering a service that is quick and convenient,” Ms Jasenaite says when talking about the app their service uses.

“We would like to get people to use our services for everyday commuting. Businesses can join us in encouraging their employees to leave their car behind by sponsoring their commutes through our app with either buying trips for them or offering credits for our app as a benefit,” Ms Jasenaite adds.

Ian Borg, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, applauded the recently-launched service as an attempt to reduce the number of cars in the roads of Malta. “I welcome this initiative as one of the sustainable transportation options, which will contribute to reducing traffic on the roads. Today most of the private vehicle journeys are completed by a single person. Ride-pooling can increase vehicle occupancy and deliver tangible benefits for both passengers and the environment such as saved costs fuel and parking, cleaner air and decreased the need for parking,” the minister said.

Debono Group investment

Cool Ride-Pooling is a new project under the umbrella of the Debono Group. Following the launch of the GoTo car sharing platform in 2018, the mobility group has looked to deliver another first to the Maltese islands.

“Cool is our latest step in our endeavour to build a sustainable mobility ecosystem in Malta. Our aim is to make mobility on the island the most effective and efficient yet simplest in the world. We look to enhance the experience offered to customers by leveraging technology to deliver best in class solutions that cater to customer needs and requirements. Cool ensures that the quickest routes are calculated dynamically in real-time, allowing for quick and efficient shared trips without lengthy detours,” said Geoffrey Debono, the Group’s CEO.

“The group is looking to move the needle when it comes to local transportation options. We want to deploy a solution that makes shared transport a more appealing choice to everyone and we hope to onboard hundreds of commuters every day from across Malta — thus ensuring Cool can really be a game changer in the mobility space — making ride-hailing more accessible and affordable for everyone,” added Michael Debono, the Group’s Strategic Director.

“ViaVan is a global leader in the ride pooling space and today operates services in major global cities including New York, London, Berlin and Amsterdam. The company is redefining public mobility by providing fully on-demand and dynamic transportation solutions,” said Chris Snyder, CEO of ViaVan. “Malta is an innovation-forward country, so we’re delighted to launch this ground- breaking on-demand service in partnership with the Debono Group. Together we look to provide everyone, from residents to tourists, with a convenient, affordable and congestion-reducing transportation alternative. This is truly a great example of a country embracing the future of mobility.”

During the launch period, the vehicles will be operating within a fixed zone covering the Attard, Balzan, Birguma, Birkirkara, Blata l-Bajda, Floriana, Gharghur, Gwardamangia, Gzira, Hamrun, Ibragg, Iklin, Imriehel, Kappara, Lija, Madliena, Marsa, Msida, Swatar, Swieqi, Paceville, Pembroke, Pieta, Qormi, San Gwann, Sliema, St. Julians, St. Venera, Ta Xbiex, and Valletta areas. Following the launch stage, the service will be gradually extended to cover more and more localities in Malta.

Travelling within this zone costs €4.95 per ride, whole second passengers in the same booking will ride for €2.48, 50% of the standard price, the press statement says.

EDITORIAL NOTE: The present article has been uploaded with the comment made by transport minister Ian Borg, a crosshead has been added and the cover picture has been changed.

The post Cool Ride-Pooling service launches in Malta first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The service launching today enables users to book GoTo cars three months in advance and use them for longer periods — such as hours or days. This comes as an addition to the originally available one-way service, where users pick the car up, and after reaching their destination they leave the car at one of the 450 designated spots. In the case of the latter, the car can only be reserved 15 minutes prior to the ride, and once left behind, other users can take it.

The new service is be operated by 30 Toyota Yaris Hybrid 1.5 cars, which come as an addition to GoTo’s fully-electric core fleet of 150 Renault Zoes at the time of publication. The so-called roundtrip cars will have designated parking spots where users can collect them and the cars must be returned to these very spots after use. Nevertheless, while booked, these cars can be parked anywhere and will wait for the user where they were left off.

“The minimum period for hiring a roundtrip Toyota car is two hours. We believe this offers a great opportunity for business people when they need to attend meetings. They will know surely that the car is waiting for them after the meeting, right where they have left it. We paid special attention to business hubs when deciding on the designated spots for these cars,” Mr Golan tells BM about the new service.

As the Toyota hybrids will be available for longer hires, the fuel needed for the combustion engines will be covered by GoTo staff. However, should the users need to tank the cars, GoTo will offer a selection of fuel stations where the clients just need to top up the car and GoTo will pay the bill.

Launching new mobile app

Additionally, to the new service, GoTo is also launching its new mobile application, further streamlining the services the carsharing company offers to clients.

In the past month, the company was running a test-phase of the new service and the new app, all having been tested by its clients. They received GoTo services for free for this period, in exchange for helping debug the operations.

Developing its infrastructure, GoTo is currently installing charging stations to charge its electric cars. Under the public tender GoTo won last year, it has to install a total of 225 charging stations. At the moment, they have 60+ charging stations and counting. Mr Golan is positive that all the charging stations should be finished by the end of this year. Once GoTo reaches its goal, Mr Golan says that these stations might be opened up for public use, whereas now they are exclusively available for GoTo cars.

Although GoTo was only launched in November, Mr Golan says that demand for car sharing has been high. The company currently receives 570 reservations a day from over 6,000 registered clients, out of whom 3,700 are monthly active users.

The post GoTo launches complementary ‘roundtrip’ service today first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.