BMW Launches Car-Sharing Service, Parking App In San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – BMW is the latest car company to join San Francisco's growing car-share market, as the luxury automaker is looking to jump to the head of the pack with energy and time saving components.
The company announced two programs it is launching in partnership with San Francisco city leaders on Monday. The car-sharing program, DriveNow, would allow people to enroll to use one of BMW's 70-car fleet of ActiveE all-electric cars, parked at different locations across the city.
KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:
The company is also helping drivers find parking spaces as BMW is set to launch a ParkNow app next month, which will allow people to search for spots – only in participating garages.
Ian Robertson with BMW said the all-electric vehicles will save time, money and energy.
"There are over 500,000 people looking for 450,000 parking spaces," he said. "About 30 percent of all the traffic on all of the streets are people looking for parking places."
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said it's all part of a growing market for car-sharing in the city.
"We'll be great partners here not only with the rentals and with the ownership, but also with the technology and the smart way of getting in and out of our city," said Lee.
DriveNow will be the first rental program for BMW in the U.S., although company officials said they expect to expand to other markets in the near future.
The cars will cost $12 to rent for the first half hour and 32 cents for each additional minute.
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