Carshare company selected because of its extensive network and experience

GoGet, Australia’s first and largest carshare service, has been chosen by the Department of Transport Victoria as the lead fleet partner to launch the first Electric Vehicle (EV) carshare network in Australia.

“GoGet was the first carshare service in Melbourne.  DOT’s decision to partner with us to bring EVs to the CBD is a welcome acknowledgement of our focus on combining ease of consumer use with sustainability.  It is also an acknowledgement that the robust carshare network we have here is an ideal platform for helping to make EV use a reality for Melburnians,” said Mike Murray, General Manager Victoria GoGet.

This trial partnership builds on GoGet’s earlier deployment of EVs in Melbourne over the past year and will see up to 10 EVs be positioned at key locations around the CBD.  

"GoGet's involvement means electric vehicles will be experienced by potentially thousands of Victorians who would otherwise have no idea of what an electric vehicle can do," said Mr. Edward O'Donohue, the Parliamentary Secretary for Transport.

In addition to enabling more Melburnians to experience EV use, the trial will also continue to build a valuable trove of EV-knowledge based on extensive real-world, urban use in multiple contexts.

GoGet locations will include the Alto Hotel, recognised as Australia’s most sustainable hotel, and 101 Collins Street, widely considered one of Melbourne’s most prominent business addresses. 

The Alto Hotel, the first location in the trial to be up and running, will offer its guests the opportunity to experience its EV called “Sparky” (GoGet names all of its vehicles).

“At the Alto, we work very hard to do sustainable things at the highest level.  So it is great to be able to provide our guests with a quality car, cutting edge technology and a carshare option that means that within a few minutes they can be zooming around town in an Electric Vehicle powered by 100 per cent green energy,” said Gary Stickland, the general manager of the Alto hotel, which Conde Nast called the best example of sustainable tourism in 2010 and which currently occupies TripAdvisor’s top spot of 4-star hotels in Melbourne.

Phillip Morley, Manager, Finance and Administration, 101 Collins Street, which is home to a long list of high-profile tenants, including a range of leading multi-national financial, legal and technology firms, cited the shift in transport and lifestyle priorities as an important driver of the building’s decision to partner with GoGet.

“We believe in recognising and anticipating important trends that will benefit our tenants,” Morley said. “This initiative will enable us to provide another best-of technology option onsite that we think will not only meet current tenant needs but is able to grow with them.” 

GoGet, which will be determining additional CBD locations over the coming weeks, sees the use of carshare in the travel/tourism space and the business sector as part of the growing recognition of the convenience and competitive advantages of carshare in Australia.

 “What we are seeing in Melbourne is another natural extension of carshare as a core Australian transport solution,” said Tristan Sender, CEO of GoGet.  “Businesses are using carshare as a more convenient fleet and transport option. Individuals are increasingly using carshare as an easy and cheaper alternative to car ownership. Basically, we are seeing carshare becoming an assumed part of people’s transport equation.”