October 2, 2015-GM Launches New Car Sharing Program: Let's Drive NYCSMU SMC

GM is stepping out into the car sharing market, launching Let’s Drive NYC in Manhattan, but only a very small portion. In fact, its only available to those who live at The Ritz Plaza.

However, don’t think GM is pouring money and resources to only service one apartment building. They are planning to expand throughout Manhattan and possibly to other urban cities. Let’s Drive NYC is a result of a partnership between GM, Icon Parking Systems, and and real estate developer Stonehenge Partners.

So how does it work?

Well, users open up the Let’s Drive NYC app and are able to choose what car they want to drive out of the parking garage and what time they want to use it. They simply have to walk down to the valet, and they will pull up the car. The price is an hourly rate competitive to similar car sharing programs (cough, cough–Zipcar), and includes gas and insurance. In fact, Let’s Drive NYC is very similar to Zipcar, just without the annual or monthly fees. This entire concept was developed by a tech “startup” within the GM company. Zafar Razzacki, user experience and marketing lead for urban mobility, says this division is “re-imagining the way people use their vehicles.”

Let’s Drive NYC is an interesting concept, especially in cities where people don’t want the burden of owning their own cars, creating more mobility options. Razzacki stated it best saying, “It’s really important for us to start thinking differently about how people are using cars. Sure, we can make the best cars in the world, but if people don’t want to use them or can’t use them, it doesn’t make sense as a business for us.”