BMW is committed to many aspects of individual mobility—now and over the next five to ten years. Among the possibilities are electric vehicles, self-driving cars, and premium performance vehicles. Another commitment is to personal urban mobility; for BMW, this means city-car sharing. BMW's ReachNow app-based car-sharing service has been up and running in Seattle, Washington, since April of 2016.
Now BMW is moving down the Pacific coast to initiate ReachNow in Portland, Oregon starting September 19, 2016. The fleet will include the same cars as the Seattle program, except that the i3 will not join the Portland program right away, and Portland eventually will get BMW X1 Sports Activity Vehicles.
ReachNow allows users to get from point to point and park in any city spot within the program’s “Home Area.”
The first members to sign up for Portland’s ReachNow will receive a two-week preview period starting September 6.
Portland’s ReachNow’s initial Home Area—at least during the two-week Preview Drive—encompasses the Convention Center, Central Eastside, Downtown, and the Pearl District neighborhoods. On September 19, the official opening day, the Home Area will grow in the north to Columbia Boulevard, east to 72nd Avenue, south to Woodstock Boulevard and Sellwood Moreland, and west to Goose Hollow and Northwest District. How far and how fast the Home Area grows and how many vehicles will comprise the fleet depends on the growth of the membership.
In conjunction with the ReachNow Portland launch, BMW will waive the $39 registration fee and reduce per-minute rates by $0.08 to $0.41. The rate while parked is $0.30 per minute.
Portland officials seem to be pleased with another car-sharing service. Leah Treat, director of the Bureau of Transportation, said, “As a pioneering city for transportation alternatives, Portland is proud to welcome ReachNow. On-demand car-sharing naturally supports our existing transit and bike infrastructure, helping Portlanders get where they need to go, when they need to be there.”
BMW does not have the Portland car-sharing or alternate personal transportation market all to itself. Daimler has been operating its Car2Go for four years and has 45,000 members toodling about in 465 Smart cars. Zipcar, Getaround, and Turo are also car-sharing services in Portland, and there is even a newly launched bicycle-sharing service. Uber and Lyft were approved in Portland late last year.
BMW says it will launch ReachNow in two more U.S. cities by the end of 2016, and eventually will offer the service in ten North American metropolitan areas.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
