Share to care

Do you really need a car? The answer may surprise you. GoTo Car Share’s founder Steven Vincent explains the environmental and financial benefits of only using a car when you need to.

Words Karl Puschmann

Car sharing is a concept that’s popular in many major metropolitan cities across the globe, but one that has been slow to arrive in Tauranga.
Until now.

GoTo Car Share is the first such service to zoom across the starting line here in the Bay. And because the company was started by locals it’s been created with a mission to be as environmentally friendly as possible to help not only ease traffic congestion in and around the CBD but also sustain the natural beauty of our renowned beaches and environment. 

“Having electric vehicles (EVs) only was part of the plan all along,” Steven Vincent, GoTo’s founder, explains. “It’s about sharing resources and having an environmentally conscious solution for business and people.”

Starting GoTo Car Share happened organically. Steven and some business partners had already formed the office-sharing company Basestation in Durham Street where freelancers and small business owners could rent a desk, meeting room or office for anywhere between an hour to a more lengthy commitment. His team had a fleet of four cars and he began to see the waste in having to park, insure and pay for cars that spent most of their time idle.

“We started thinking about whether we needed the cars at all as they only got used 10 percent of the time,” Steven says. “So we talked about how we could share those cars with other people and get more use out of them. It wasn’t just the car, it was also the fact of them taking up valuable car park space as well.”

As they were already sharing meeting rooms and office spaces the concept of sharing was at the forefront of his mind. Looking around he realised that Basestation had a great central location with a potential customer base of around 50 businesses already in the building. And so Steven started GoTo Car Share from the same space. He got rid of the petrol cars and began building a small fleet of EVs, believing the environmental benefits and user accessibility were key. 

“We wanted to make a public service where anyone can use it,” Steven says. 

Of course, Kiwis love their cars. A byproduct of decades worth of woefully underfunded public transport. Steven too loves cars, just
not owning them.

“If you look at the service of car sharing it comes down to the concept of flexibility. It’s about usership, not ownership.”

With a current fleet of five EVs available 24/7 and plans coming along to expand to other locations, including Mount Maunganui, customers will never be caught short without access to a vehicle when they need one. The convenience and financial freedom of not running a car could even make ownership a thing of the past.

The concept is initially a bit different but Steven says change is in the air, as evidenced by the variety of people using the service. Including those you’d least expect.

“The person who took a car just before I talked to you, even he admits it would be very difficult to get out of his petrol car,” Steven says. “However, this week, he made a commitment and he hasn't used his car all week. He's used the bus service for the first time in his life, and electric scooters. And now he's trying the car sharing. So if that's an indication of what people are doing there's a sea change underway.”

“People are definitely embracing it. And they're definitely wanting to change,” he continues. 

“People are wanting to get out of their cars and use other forms of transport. Where we fit into that puzzle is, if you need a car just for an hour, come and use one. You don't necessarily need to own one.” 

Goto.nz

LEXUS family drive

Future of family motoring

How does an EV handle a weekend away with the kids in tow? Surprisingly – and delightfully – well, as we discovered.

Words + photos Hayley Barnett

With petrol prices skyrocketing and showing no signs of returning to Earth, the case for EVs (electric vehicles) or hybrid cars has only become stronger. And that’s before we get to the environmental benefits. While some naysayers doubt the very real science behind climate change, I think we can all agree that the pain at the petrol pump is very real. 

But when we think about selling our petrol engine car and upgrading to an EV, there’s always the nagging thought that, while great for zipping around town running our everyday life errands, they wouldn’t work when it came to embarking on family holidays or road trips.

This is where people turn to hybrids, which have both petrol and electric engines, with the traditional combustion engine kicking in when you run out of kilowatts. 

But, let’s face it – the petrol engine is old technology and on the way out. Is the future of pure EVs ready to be embraced today? And do they fit in with the Kiwi way of life?

We already know that they’re absolutely fine for the school run, the office commute, and trips to the supermarket. So my partner and I decided to put our holiday on the line, load up an EV with suitcases and our two children and drive from Papamoa to Auckland for a long weekend.

For this ambitious road trip, we borrowed the Lexus UX300e in a glistening cobalt blue. This luxurious front-wheel drive, fully electric vehicle boasts a 150kw engine, five seats, a pumping sound system with Bluetooth connectivity, a two-tone leather interior and, most importantly, a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Coming from our larger Nissan Murano, there were initial concerns about the four of us squeezing into the Lexus. But those were quickly dismissed. The generous boot space easily had enough room for the family luggage, and neither Mr Four nor Miss Seven moaned once as their car seats clicked into place. We were closer than we were used to, but everyone had more than enough room. 

Instead of roaring into life after pressing the start button, the UX300e is relatively silent. After double-checking that yes, I’d started it up correctly, I shifted into reverse and carefully backed out of the drive. As you’d expect, there was a great reversing camera; it has a lovely big and bright colour screen, as well as an overhead view of the car.

At first, my unleaded petrol foot was a bit heavy on the brakes, giving us a fairly stuttery start to our journey. But after a few kilometers, I’d acclimated and my driving started to match the smoothness of the ride. Sinking into the extremely comfortable seats, we left Tauranga and hit the motorway. 

Out on the open road, there were no signs of struggle from the car’s electric engine. It soared up hills, cruised along straights, and whizzed effortlessly past any slow coaches in the passing lanes. 

We’d been told the car had a 300km range, although I couldn’t help but keep one watchful eye on the battery meter, which is conveniently styled as a traditional fuel gauge. With tunes streaming to the stereo and the aircon on, I felt a bit nervy that we’d run out of juice.

The worry was needless. We had just under 100kms “in the tank” when we hit the Bombays. But as we’d stopped for lunch and a session at Waihi’s terrific kids’ playground, we were coming into rush-hour traffic. I didn’t want to risk a breakdown, so pulled into the charging station at the Bombay Hills EV charging station. While the family went off to get a snack, I plugged the car in and refilled. About half an hour, and $26 later, we were charged up and good to go.  

Driving past the petrol stations, with their dirty fumes and outrageously high prices, I couldn’t help but feel a little smug that the trip to Auckland had cost less than Friday night fish ‘n’ chips.

We spent the next three days buzzing around the city, the Lexus capably getting us around Auckland -- and through its traffic – without breaking a sweat and with fantastic power economy. We couldn’t believe our luck when we spotted an EV park right outside the Auckland Museum entrance, especially as it was pouring with rain. We weren’t on empty, but decided to charge up during our visit anyway and were surprised to find it was free. Yes, free! That’s even better than Friday night fish ‘n’ chips.

We didn’t need to charge up again until right before heading home on Sunday. 

It was hard to hand the keys back on Monday morning. The trip away in the UX300e absolutely cemented the idea that EVs are the future of motoring, and that we can’t wait to be rid of the environmentally and financially disastrous petrol engine for good. 

lexus .co.nz