Sustainability has been a huge topic and mission for decades on this planet. Some countries run companies that provide sustainable products. Other countries work on a bigger scale to focus on sustainable transportation. In the Netherlands, a company called Greenwheels, which started in Rotterdam, decided to drive the people towards sustainable ways. This is making a big impact on many streets, including the beautiful streets of Utrecht.
Making cities more liveable
Greenwheels’s main mission is to make cities easier to live in and provide people to be part of a sharing community. They offer a sustainable alternative to car ownership by providing car sharing. They create more space in the city and roads.
25 years of impact
In the Netherlands, there has been a decrease in 3000 cars on the streets. In the 25 years, Greenwheels has been active, it helped with 957,675 kilometers of coverage. There are currently 385 Greenwheels cars in Utrecht alone. On average, 24 people use a car, each. A user drives 1,947 kilometers less with Greenwheels, in comparison with driving their own car a year. The results are a saving of 345kg less CO2 emissions per customer.
One Greenwheels car equals 11 cars
11 cars disappear from the street, for every Greenwheels car placed in a neighbourhood. 3,146 cars have already disappeared on the streets of Utrecht. As more cars disappear there will be more space for other things to be built. This caters to efficiency towards a livable city. At the end of the day, hardly anyone uses their car 24/7. The majority of cars are parked for a large part of the day. This is where Greenwheels come in.
An effective take on cars
Greenwheels is active in 155 Dutch municipalities. Greenwheels cars are located at most NS train stations. The demand for shared cars is on a continuous rise. The private and business sectors use the service. The lockdown proved how effective Greenwheels is. Director Andrew Berkhout stated:
“PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED HOW PLEASANT IT IS WITH FEWER CARS ON THE STREETS. THEREFORE, WE WILL CONTINUE WITH THE ROLE THAT WE HAVE PLAYED. THINKING ALONG WITH THE MOBILITY OF THE FUTURE. OUR AMBITION IS TO ULTIMATELY MAKE GREENWHEELS SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE. WE WANT TO STAY AHEAD AND THINK ALONG WITH MORE MUNICIPALITIES IN NORTH HOLLAND ABOUT THE VILLAGES AND CITIES OF THE FUTURE AND STRIVE FOR MORE AND MORE ELECTRIC CARS ON THE STREET. WE ARE ALREADY SEEING A REDUCTION IN CO₂ EMISSIONS . THANKS TO GREENWHEELS WITH PETROL CARS. OF COURSE, IT WOULD BE FANTASTIC IF WE COULD RUN ALL OUR CARS EMISSION-FREE. “ Andrew Berkhout
Sharing is Caring
This car is for everyone. The usage of car sharing is simple. A driver’s license or an OV chip card are the ways to use a Greenwheels car. To reserve and have access to the car the customer has to have a special app. The cars have fixed reserved spots. The spots are recognized by the car-sharing board. This makes searching unnecessary. 84% of Greenwheels users appreciate this type of system. There will always be an available car, for the next customer. Users have access to choose from city cars to delivery vans.
For more information visit Greenwheels.
Information of national figures can be found here.
Article on the rise of electric car sharing can be found here.
Published on Utrecht Central.
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