© General Motors
OKEMOS, Mich. –– After months of hinting at new ideas for improving transportation, including increased efforts with vehicle connectivity and autonomous driving innovations, General Motors will bring car-sharing to New York City residents.
For now, the new car-sharing program, called “Let’s Drive NYC,” will serve residents of The Ritz Plaza, an apartment building at Times Square in Midtown Manhattan and home to many affluent citizens.
“When GM approached us with their car-sharing program, we were excited to incorporate this innovative service to further enhance our residents’ lifestyle,” said Ofer Yardeni, chairman and CEO of Stonehenge, a company focused on bolstering community environments in Manhattan. “Owning a vehicle in New York City is expensive and inconvenient. GM’s Let’s Drive NYC car-sharing program delivers a valuable and sought-after amenity, and residents of The Ritz Plaza are taking full advantage of it.”
With GM’s new car-sharing program, residents will have another convenient transportation option in addition to New York’s subway system, buses, taxis, bikes, and walking. Owning and driving a vehicle in a large city like New York is more of a burden than a privilege, but with car-sharing that mode of transportation becomes more feasible as users aren’t faced with the dilemma of finding costly garage space or handling routine maintenance.
“Customers want options on how to move from Point A to Point B that provide flexibility and personalization,” said GM President Dan Ammann. “Let’s Drive NYC is just one part of GM’s global urban mobility strategy. We view evolving consumer preferences, such as car-sharing, as real business opportunities, where we can quickly build on our existing capabilities such as OnStar connectivity to very effectively meet customer needs.
To enhance the car-sharing program GM is bringing to New York residents, the automaker is providing a mobile app that allows residents to find parking at any of Icon Parking Systems’ 200 Manhattan garages. For now, residents will have the choice of driving one of the eight Chevrolet Trax SUVs or one of the two Chevrolet Equinox SUVs that currently make up the car-sharing fleet.
To drive the vehicles, GM gives residents electronic credits worth three hours of rental per month. After those three hours, residents have to pay $10 an hour or $75 every 24 hours. But those prices aren’t too bad when you think about the cost of owning a vehicle as opposed to renting one out a few days a week.
This isn’t necessarily a foray into car-sharing for GM. The automaker has tested programs before debuting “Let’s Drive NYC,” such as their program in Toronto for university students, or their partnership with Google in 2014 that was a commuter ride-sharing service with Chevrolet Spark EVs. This new car-sharing program in New York is evidently all of GM’s best ideas bundled into one streamlined service.
If all goes well with “Let’s Drive NYC,” we’re betting GM expands the program to other residents in the city, and other cities across the nation. For now, the rest of us will have to continue owning our vehicles, not that many people have an aversion to that reality anyway. Stop by our Chevrolet dealer near East Lansing, MI, to experience the performance of a new Chevy.
Hank Graff Chevrolet Okemos is committed to providing you with integrity and convenience, all close to home. Let our friendly team of Chevy professionals at Hank Graff Okemos help you –– simply call us at (517) 349-8300 or visit our showroom, located at 1748 W. Grand River Okemos, MI 48864. We’re just minutes from Lansing!
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