Just read on Green Prophet that an Israeli company is launching a car share service.
Great initiative - given that one of my all time favourite services is the car share service here in San Francisco (which I use almost on a weekly basis). You just show up, take the car, get your stuff done, bring it back. Smile all the way to and from the parking.
If the Israeli service will be anything like it is here, it should be a "no-brainer" success... But knowing there are some "subtle" differences between the Israeli and American driver culture, There are a number of challenges which, based on how addressed, will determine the ultimate success of the venture:
For example:
US: The service includes free gas (assuming a majority of short distance travel this makes sense)
Israel: Israeli's do not want to feel "Fraierim" (Hebrew for Suckers) - If they pay per hour for a car, they will use it to drive - As far as they can (even in a small country I can imagine those that will drive in circles)
US: You get a clean car - You return a clean car
Israel: If you get a clean car, someone must be around to clean up after you when you return it. (This is the case if Israeli beach behaviour is anything to learn from)
US: Respect the road, respect the car
Israel: If the car share will be any similar to the leasing behaviour, you can expect to see the cars parked on high curb sidewalks and travelling on 4X4 trails...
But seriously - even though I'm sure all these issues will be addressed within the rental terms and liability... At the end of the day it will be up to the drivers to respect the "public" good and the next driver, in order for the service to be successful.
By the way, a great link into the service would be a "Green" Driver monitoring system, that would reward the careful (and Green) driver. (One such company is GreenRoad Technologies, an Israeli provider of driver diagnostics system (...for full disclosure, a company my fund is an investor in)
Shared, rental or otherwise, the question is where on earth will you park it in Tel-Aviv...
Posted by: Guy Rosen | September 17, 2008 at 04:42 AM
Great idea - lets get someone to set up "city Park Share"
I'm willing to fund the smart business plan supporting this
Posted by: Sagirubin | September 17, 2008 at 10:43 PM
Whenever I find myself searching (and, from time to time, arguing over) parking, I dream of the service that will organize the "queue" of spots to all those searching within a specific neighborhood, and allocate them in a fair manner.
The problem with these kinds of schemes is that they are not enforceable, so if you don't have a critical mass of subscribers, the non-subscribers will simply beat the system and grab your empty spots.
Posted by: Guy Rosen | September 18, 2008 at 04:30 AM
I guess it would only work if you include members that have private parking spaces, and elect to share them in a pool (when they are not using them), or provide a "notification" service for members, who would notify before they leave a parking spot, and members could look up the system and find where a spot is emptying up. (community parking portal, mashed up with google maps - which I understand is not available anymore in Israel...)
Posted by: Sagirubin | September 18, 2008 at 10:20 AM