Car sharing is the new hip thing in Japan
We've heard of car sharing in Europe and North America, and now the only-have-it when-you-need-it model of car "ownership" is becoming more popular in Japan, according to Japan for Sustainability. Thanks in part to more government support and rising fuel prices, car sharing there is getting a second look. Orix Auto Corp., Japan's largest car sharing business, recently introduced a new combo car sharing and car rental service and will "substantially" increase their services in the Tokyo and Nagoya areas. Orix is also targeting condominium apartment dwellers. The company currently has about 15 to 20 people per car, and hopes to increase its user base to reach a 30:1 ratio, the average in other areas..
Other car sharing increases are being undertaken by Mazda Car Rental Corp. and the government of Kanazawa City in Ishikawa Prefecture. In that city, a full-scale car sharing system started up last November. Car sharers there can get discounts on bus tokens.
[Source: Japan for Sustainability via Green Car Congress]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Don 4:33PM (6/20/2007)
If I lived in urban Japan or New York...I'd jump at this car sharing thing.
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