In the Schouwburgplein parking garage, also known as the Kruisplein garage, ten parking spaces have been reserved for shared cars. From the 1st of September 2021, three providers of shared transport will offer electric cars.

The shared cars will be situated in the parking garage leaving more space on the street for pedestrians, cyclists and greenery. Users can park for free in the Kruisplein garage and park in other cities such as Utrecht and Amsterdam with rides also possible within Rotterdam.

The shared cars from Amber, Greenwheels and Share Now will be available in the garage for at least one year. Rotterdam, together with the providers, are aiming to gain insight into the data behind the pilot collecting information on the usage times, distances travelled and who the users are. This pilot is an addition to the current and growing range of shared cars in Rotterdam. The city has a number of shared car initiatives offering a variety of solutions for sustainable shared transport for citizens.

Easy door-to-door journey

Shared transport can be an easy and easily accessible link in the door-to-door journey.

The Rotterdam Central District station area is one of the busiest areas in the heart of the city. A lively area where people live, work and travel. However, there is little parking on the public road meaning that residents cannot always park a car close to their preferred destinations or homes. The introduction of fixed electric shared cars in the parking garage offers residents and visitors the opportunity to park nearby and to make, start or end their journey with the shared car.

From possession to use

Many people own a private car but use it very little, paying for parking, maintenance and insurance, even when they are not driving, shared transport is a solution for this, says Judith Bokhove, alderman of mobility from the City of Rotterdam:

“For a short trip through the city, there are shared bicycles and shared scooters. Or you take public transport. For longer journeys and journeys between cities, you can opt for public transport or from now in these electric shared cars. This way you get everywhere you need to be, and only pay when you travel. In addition, the shared cars in the Kruisplein garage ensures that fewer cars are parked on the street and there is more space for cycling, walking and greenery.”

The pilot started on the 1st of September 2021 and will last until the 31st of August 2022. During the pilot, various evaluation moments will take place between the municipality and the participating providers. Rotterdam will use the data from the pilot for future policy. The pilot is part of the European project MOBI-MIX, in which various European cities work together to accelerate the use of shared transport and the development of Mobility-as-a-Service and thus contribute to a reduction of CO2 emissions.

More information about the pilot and shared transport providers in Rotterdam can be found at www.rotterdam.nl/deelvervoer

Keep up to date with the MOBI-MIX project and all the demonstrators, follow MOBI-MIX on Twitter and LinkedIn for all the latest project updates.