The city of Grenoble, France is one of the most technological forward-thinking cities in the world. It uses smart alternatives for pretty much anything and now it has implemented an innovative electric car-sharing system that will revolutionize urban transportation. The project, a multi-partner one, is called Cité lib by Ha:mo and it works by making available for the people of Grenoble electric cars that can be borrowed from various points in the city and used for as long as needed, and then returned to their charging points.
Cité lib by Ha:mo is a joint effort between Metro, the French electricity company EDF, Sodetrel, by Toyota and Cité lib, the Grenoble car-sharing operator. The project Cité lib by Ha:mo is made up of 70 four and three-wheeled electric cars, COMS and TOYOTA i-ROAD. The cars have available a whopping 120 charging stations, stretched out throughout the city.
Toyota Motor Corporation, Takeshi Uchiyamada, stated that the company is very excited to be working aside the residents of Grenoble in solving the city’s urban traffic problems. He continued to say that all the partners who helped make the project have the same aspiration of creating a future urban mobility. Uchiyamada concluded that urban mobility solutions will also be a key growth area for tech car giant Toyota in the near future.
The entire electric car-sharing system is made available through an app, naturally! The app is called Station Mobile and it will tell you where to find your electric car, what is the best route for your needs and how to use the city’s public transportation system to get to the Cité lib by Ha:mo vehicles. The cars can be reserved through the app and paid for with a special card at the charging station, where the person picked it up.
What makes this project valid and possibly very successful is that it chooses to work together with buses and trams and does not seek to eliminate them. The Grenoble public transportation system is a very successful system and by adding the electric vehicles, it has just been made even better.
The electric vehicles themselves are very compact and, Grenoble citizens are saying, cute. They even tilt when conform to the curve of the road, which takes some getting used to, but in the end they serve their purpose very well.
So how much does this innovative electric car-sharing service cost? Cité lib by Ha:mo is also called 3, 2, 1 euros, because it costs three euros for the first 15 minutes you use the car, two euros for the second 15 minutes and one euro for each 15-minute increment after that. You can even subscribe to an annual transport card, which is cheaper, two euros for the first segment and just one euros for each 15-minute increment after that.
Cité lib by Ha:mo’s infrastructure isn’t just people-friendly, it’s also environmental-friendly and great city management. Experts believe that Cité lib by Ha:mo will significantly decongest traffic in the city of Grenoble and the surrounding areas.
Director of Public Markets for EDF, Jean-Pierre Frémont, stated:
Energy transition leads us to create and develop innovative solutions for low-carbon mobility in order to improve the quality of life of people in local communities. That is the very meaning of this unique trial project for EDF and its partners.
Cité lib by Ha:mo doesn’t seek to replace the public transportation system, such as buses, trams and trains, but wants to work with them to reduce traffic congestion, which is why its success is almost guaranteed.
