Lublin launches Car Sharing Service

100 hybrid Toyota Yaris are available to rent between Lublin and Warsaw

Lublin has finally been backed by the long-awaited car-sharing service: 100 brand new hybrid cars are already available to rent to licensed drivers. Provided with nothing but a smartphone and a credit/debit card, one can reach as far as Warsaw and back. PANEK Car Sharing, the service operator, has provided automobiles with 100 horsepower engines and automatic transmission, well equipped with advanced safety systems, control appliances, camera and the much-needed hands-free kits. Moreover, lane control and cruise control are available to drivers.

This undertaking comes as a part of a larger urban transport strategy of the Polish city, aimed at sustainable development, achieved by electrical mobility and low carbon emissions. Renting hybrid cars per minute comes on top of city bike or electric buses. Krzysztof Żuk, Mayor of Lublin is hopeful that soon, upon necessary preparations, such as construction of a network of chargers and awareness-raising among citizens, even the introduction of electrical automobiles is possible.

The new service works particularly easily and is already seen in other major cities such as Warsaw and Wroclaw. The vehicles are rented for minutes, hours or days using the free PANEK CS mobile app available in the AppStore (iOS) and PlayStore (Android). After a preliminary registration, the nearest available car can be located by GPS and selected. Upon arriving and entering the vehicle, the customer has three free minutes for preparation, after which he will be charged PLN 0.50 per minute and PLN 0.65 per kilometre. The offer available for 24 hours is of 90 PLN on top of the cost per kilometres driven. As the operator already provides the same service in the Capital, the customer travelling from Lublin is able to leave the car there with no charge.

The initiative is backed by the local authorities and is expected to improve air quality and reduce the number of old vehicles that emit too much carbon dioxide and thereby to increase the availability of parking slots. Finally, the service is supported throughout the day via a hotline and mobile technicians, responsible for the maintenance of the vehicles and their good appearance.

Source: Invest in Lublin