BMW’s ReachNow mobility services division, which already offers a car sharing service in several US cities, has now introduced ride hailing in the same app, available for users in Seattle. With that, ReachNow members can now choose to drive themselves, hail an immediate ride a’la Uber, or schedule a pick-up for later within the ReachNow app.
The premium carmaker says that this development is a step towards scaling the mobility services that it has been testing beyond free-floating car sharing, including ride hailing, multi-day rental and fleet services for residential and corporate partners. The new Uber-style service leverages the existing ReachNow shared fleet and no additional cars have been added, BMW says.
“From day one, we’ve said that car sharing alone isn’t enough to solve the transportation challenges facing major cities. There are plenty of use cases for how people take advantage of a matrix of transit solutions – from bikes and buses to ride share and ferries – to make their way around their world every day,” said Dr Simon Broesamle, chief customer officer at ReachNow.
Members can now seamlessly choose between driving themselves via car sharing or getting a ride from a professional driver with the ride hailing service from the same app interface. Choose “Drive” and you get to select from a fleet of hundreds of BMW, BMW i and MINI vehicles, and pay by the minute, hour or day. With “Ride”, members can choose between an immediate, on-demand pickup or a scheduled ride – from 20 minutes to up to seven days in advance.
There’s more. BMW says that one can personalise his/her ride experience by selecting temperature and music preferences, in addition to a “quiet time” feature for members who wish to not be disturbed during their ride. All ReachNow rides use professional drivers to ensure a consistent, quality experience, the company says.
For a limited time, the sign up fee is waived for Seattle users who want to try ReachNow’s Ride function only. Standard ride pricing will start at $3.24 (RM13.15) minimum, plus $2.40/mile and $0.40/minute with no surge pricing.
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