Car sharing in Japan
It would seem that car sharing is starting to catch on in Japan:
The news clip features Orix’s car sharing business. As example customers, a woman is shown taking a short trip with her daughter, and a salesman uses a vehicle for a sales run. The president of Orix is very optimistic about future growth.
Some details in English from the Japan Times:
An advance subscription is required to use the service. Members are issued an identification card that can be used to unlock the cars, which are available 24 hours a day.
Under the A Plan of the Petit-Renta service of Orix Auto Corp., the basic monthly fee is ¥2,980, and the operating fee is ¥160 for 15 minutes plus ¥19 for each kilometer traveled.
With the A Plan of the Car Share 24 service operated by Mazda Car Rental Corp., the basic monthly fee is ¥4,200, plus a ¥210 operating fee per 15-minute period.
Asq Co. of Yokohama, which is offering services to condominium residents, charges ¥150 per 15 minutes.
Basic fees may differ depending on the company, but all include gasoline, taxes and insurance.
Computing the difference in the cost between private cars and the car-sharing service, Orix Auto said about ¥55,000 can be saved each month if a minivehicle is used for two hours a day four times a month.
- Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
- dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
- Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)
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That’s still pretty damn expensive. It’s not really car sharing so much as a self-service car rental. Same thing with the way they do it where I’m from: http://www.communitycar.com
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They’re too expensive if you’re only an occasional driver, and they require you to go to some kind of orientation session, which may not be held at a convenient time. I do realize that leasing parking spaces in urban centers is not cheap, but those monthly fees are usurious compared to ZipCar in New York. (http://www.zipcar.com/nyc/check-rates)
Frankly, Japan has a way to go before car sharing is popular with consumers rather than businesses, in my opinion.
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