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Car-sharing services make a lot of sense for urban folks who occasionally drive. But two key problems for people depending on car-sharing have emerged in the COVID-19 crisis.
(Car Next Door)
One question surrounds whether it is safe to drive cars shared by many other users. The other is whether cars remain available as people hoard them for their own purposes.
Car Next Door [in Australia] says it is pleading with 180,000 members “not to car-hoard” as many bookings are now made for “extended periods of time.” The result is people who may need access to cars to provide essential services are being forced to use public transport.
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Will Davies, chief executive and co-founder of Car Next Door, says people are booking cars for periods of time that are “substantially above usual”.
“People are booking cars just to have in case they need one,” he says.
“They don’t want to share it.”
Davies says healthcare workers that need transport and “don’t want to be traveling in densely populated public transport” who have been impacted by the trend.
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Rival platform GoGet has not recorded an uptick in longer than usual bookings. Jonathan Englert, head of communications for GoGet says its users are behaving as usual.
“We are not seeing car hoarding, but if it was to happen because we own and closely manage our fleet, we are able to tailor the supply of our vehicles to demand,” he says.
“It has always been important for GoGet to ensure that our 150,000 members have access to vehicles when they need them so that they feel confident to either not buy a car or not buy a second car.”
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Car Next Door has recorded a 30 percent drop in user activity in the last week or so as people work from home and adopt social isolation advice intended to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
“Booking numbers have dropped significantly over the last week, which correlates with people starting to take it really seriously,” Davies says.
The best way to prevent contracting or transmitting the virus is to stay home.
For those who do need to move in cars, cleaning vehicles during the COVID-19 crisis is not a straightforward process.
Experts such as Jennifer Stockburger, director of operations at Consumer Reports’ Auto Test Center in the US, say touchpoints such as steering wheels, door handles, indicator and headlamp switches, gear levers, armrests and touchscreens should be cleaned regularly.
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Alcohol-based cleaning agents can be used to disinfect plastic and leather trim, and the latter will benefit from conditioning or car care treatment afterward to prevent lasting damage.
Read the fine print on cleaning products to make sure they work with different surfaces — especially suede-like Alcantara found in many modern performance cars.
Disposable gloves can be worn to minimize the risk of contamination, and mobile services can steam-clean vehicle ventilation systems for further peace of mind.