Sharing personal mobility

From owning a ride to sharing your ride

Buying a car is a significant decision that requires to consider a wide range of factors before making the investment. This used to be the main reason why people would decide not to make the purchase. Today, however, the shared economy brings reasons that go way beyond the monetary stance. The rise of alternative options such as private lease or services like Lyft, Drivenow, Go Poppy, Careem, etc. have been gaining more and more recognition since people are realizing all the benefits of ‘paying for a ride’ rather than purchasing a car for personal use.

There are a number of identifiable reasons that go beyond the pure monetary investment reasons. We did some research and came up with 6 drivers for sharing mobility instead of owning mobility.

The first and the foremost benefit of opting for such services is the convenience that you get to enjoy. More often than not, you don’t even have to worry about the commute since you are the one to kick back and relax in the back seat without having to worry about going through the tiresome activity of excessive driving. Such services are preferred over purchasing a car for personal use due to the convenience that they offer.

It should go without saying that opting for renting a car or paying for a ride rather than purchasing a car in the first place comes with an added benefit of the peace of mind. Think about it, you don’t have to worry about maintaining a ride, you don’t have to worry about spending bogus amounts of money on fuel, you save all of your money on the timely repairs, etc. In other words, you don’t have to pay for any expense associated with the car other than the fair for riding it. This is what a true peace of mind while traveling sounds like.

People prefer to hire a ride rather than purchase one because it saves a remarkable amount of time for them. While it is next to impossible to do any of the stuff done while driving your own car, hiring a car helps you utilize the time during the commute in a far more effective fashion. You can send your emails, you can read the paper, you can make that important phone call, you can get so much done during the commute that improves the overall productivity of your day.

Another major driver behind the preference of sharing mobility over purchasing a car is the affordability. Over the years, due to competition perhaps, the fair prices for such services have sharply gone downhill making it more and more affordable for people from all walks of life. Combine the factor of affordability with the rest of the benefits and you’d get an idea why it sounds like a good idea to a fairly large proportion of the population to avail such services rather than purchasing a car for personal use.

Remember that accessibility is a major factor that convinces people to use services like Uber or Careem rather than buying their own car. The fact of the matter is that purchasing a car requires you to go through a long and hard process of learning to drive, getting to know the rules and regulation, and then getting the license after clearing the exam. All of such a hassle can be avoided by simply paying for the ride whenever you want it. Since such services come with a driver, you will no longer have to worry about sharpening such skills.

Another important reason to choose for shared mobility is liaised to the sustainability part of the equation. According to Statista, Belgium counted over 5 million (!) registered passenger cars in 2014. On a population of approximately 11 million people, that’s almost 1 car per 2 people. Needless to say this isn’t a sustainable framework for the future of mobility. A model of shared mobility will most likely lower the number of individual passenger cars. Imagine the positive impacts on our environment…

It’s indispensable to mention here that the above mentioned factors are only a fraction of the reasons why choosing shared mobility in the present day and age makes tons of sense. Rest assured, the trend seems to be settling in well and is here to stay. In the years to come, more and more people will make a switch. If nothing revolutionizes the pattern that we have been observing, this is what the future looks like for mobility.

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