Mgmt 5000

Subject:

BMW’s car-sharing service launches

Background:

ReachNow kicks off in Seattle, and its goal is to give users the experience of having a car at the ready without spending boatloads of money on a car note. BMW claims its sign-up process takes only two minutes, and after you're approved, you'll have access to 370 vehicles, including BMW's i3 electric vehicle, the BMW 3 Series and the Mini Cooper.

Main Points:

* Despite sounding similar, car sharing and ride sharing are two unique concepts. Ride sharing gets you around town in someone else's car, whereas car sharing involves multiple individuals sharing a single vehicle.

* You can reserve a car via a smartphone app (which finds the nearest available car via GPS) or walk up to a participating car and tap it with an RFID-enabled card to start a trip.

* Take photos of both sides of your driver's license, then take a selfie, and the app will compare the images before automatically confirming your membership.

* Gas, street-meter parking, and limited insurance are included in both services' $0.41-per-minute rate for its launch but will "soon" rise to $0.49.

* You can locate and book cars through the app, or you can just find one hanging out on the street. After you're finished with it, just park it in any legal parking space -- you don't even have to pay the parking meter.

Summary:

Seattle motorists can get a taste of luxury with BMW's new car-sharing service. The service, called ReachNow, provides customers with the use of 370 BMW and Mini vehicles which they can use in a number of ways, including as a short-term rental, a delivery service, chauffeur service or a longer-term rental. Eventually, if all goes according to plan, BMW hopes to extend the program to other cities.