As people become increasingly conscious of their day-to-day impact on the environment, they're looking to alternative means of transport. This has led many to turn to traditional public transport and even ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, however, these aren’t without fault. Ride-share services, for example, rely on their employees to use their own personal vehicles, which often require petrol to operate. MOIA have noted this and developed a service which aims to change how ride-sharing works.
Currently being piloted in Germany, MOIA is a ride-sharing service run using electric-powered cars. Already their fleet, consisting of over 100 vehicles, has been deployed in Hamburg and Hanover in an effort to reduce congestion and protect the environment whilst still providing a reliable service. Aiming to grow into further cities, MOIA have already secured a deal to operate in Ealing, London for a 12 month fixed period trial.
Whilst their goal is to ultimately have a positive impact on the environment, MOIA has become a major point of discussion with politicians and scientists. In an attempt to monitor their effect on traffic and the environment, MOIA will be spending the next two years conducting a full-scale study to answer several burning questions:
- Can MOIA really relieve traffic?
- What other means of transport would people use if MOIA was not available?
- Where and when is MOIA used?
- How is MOIA changing the flow of traffic and mobility in the city?
The first of its type, this investigation focuses solely on ride-sharing, rather than car-hailing, to identify analyse users’ mobility behaviour and their reasons for choosing what transport to take. To accomplish this, they will be teaming up with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Bundeswehr University Munich.
Should their investigation prove that people are likely to convert to car-pooling, reducing traffic and emissions, we can expect to see new fleets of MOIA electric vehicles in cities across the world.
Discover how the wider motor industry is adapting to become more sustainable by reading our blog breaking down SMMT’s 20th Anniversary Sustainability Report.