Photo: Daimler
Last wek, London has become the second city in Europe, after Amsterdam, where Mercedes-Benz has rolled out its ViaVan ride sharing service.
Unlike tradition car sharing services, ViaVan uses vans that travel along semi-designated routes and pick up more than one customers. Users of the service can select, through an app, the nearest virtual stop, from where they are picked up by a professional driver.
Mercedes says that the “algorithm behind the system ensures that the rides are only minimally delayed despite the intermediate stops and that hardly any detours arise through intelligent route planning.”
“The bundling of rides will sustainably relieve traffic in the city and at the same time increase mobility capacity,” adds Daimler.
The ride sharing system has been created as a means to relieve traffic in major cities. In Arlington, Texas, such a system, also operated by Via, proved so successful that city authorities decided to replace traditional public transport with this new concept.
ViaVan is the result of a cooperation between Mercedes-Benz and U.S.-based start-up Via. Following the launch in Amsterdam and London, the service will soon become available in other cities as well, including Berlin.
Shared mobility is the focus of many auto companies. A study released by consultancy company PricewaterhouseCoopers reveals that, by the year 2030, nearly one third of all travel in cities around the globe would be made by means of some type of car sharing service.
That prompted modern day arch rivals Daimler and BMW to join forces earlier this month a so-called joint-venture concept designed to create the biggest mobility solutions conglomerate in the world. Both BMW and Daimler would own 50 percent of the new joint venture.
For its part alone, BMW plans to reach 100 million customers with its mobility services by the year 2025. Together with Daimler’s car2go, the conglomerate should operate a total of 20,000 vehicles in 31 major international cities.
Mercedes says that the “algorithm behind the system ensures that the rides are only minimally delayed despite the intermediate stops and that hardly any detours arise through intelligent route planning.”
“The bundling of rides will sustainably relieve traffic in the city and at the same time increase mobility capacity,” adds Daimler.
The ride sharing system has been created as a means to relieve traffic in major cities. In Arlington, Texas, such a system, also operated by Via, proved so successful that city authorities decided to replace traditional public transport with this new concept.
ViaVan is the result of a cooperation between Mercedes-Benz and U.S.-based start-up Via. Following the launch in Amsterdam and London, the service will soon become available in other cities as well, including Berlin.
Shared mobility is the focus of many auto companies. A study released by consultancy company PricewaterhouseCoopers reveals that, by the year 2030, nearly one third of all travel in cities around the globe would be made by means of some type of car sharing service.
That prompted modern day arch rivals Daimler and BMW to join forces earlier this month a so-called joint-venture concept designed to create the biggest mobility solutions conglomerate in the world. Both BMW and Daimler would own 50 percent of the new joint venture.
For its part alone, BMW plans to reach 100 million customers with its mobility services by the year 2025. Together with Daimler’s car2go, the conglomerate should operate a total of 20,000 vehicles in 31 major international cities.
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