Japan's First Car-Sharing System in Housing Complex Launched

Orix Real Estate Corporation introduced a car-sharing system using Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) technology and launched the service on March 25, 2004 in Marksprings, a European-style community developed by the company, in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. This is the first housing complex in Japan to adopt such a system. The company is now selling 87 houses and 647 condominiums there.

Car sharing is a system in which a group of people use shared cars instead of their own. It allows members to use a car at low cost, as much as they need it, and when they need it. As the system can help to improve the urban environment and to alleviate traffic problems such as traffic jams, pollution caused by vehicle exhaust, and lack of parking spaces, it has become increasingly popular, particularly in European and American cities.

The car-sharing system introduced by CEV Sharing Corporation, Japan's first car-sharing company, uses ITS technology for the automated control of renting and returning cars and for user data management at low cost. The car-sharing station is in the parking lot next to the Marksprings complex, to enable residents to use cars easily and conveniently for low-cost daily mobility.

At the beginning, users pay 10,000 yen (about U.S.$96) to join the system and 1,500 yen for an IC card. There are two types of monthly fees: Type A for 1,500 yen and Type B for 2,000 yen, which charge 150 yen or 250 yen per 15 minutes, respectively, to use a gasoline-powered car. Members can make reservations easily by i-mode mobile Web service, the Internet, or regular telephones.



Posted: 2004/07/06 10:27:42 AM
Japanese version