One of the small but on-going issues in moving from car ownership as the dominant paradigm is how will young people be able to practice to get a driver's license?
Until now no carsharing company of had a solution to this problem since most carsharing insurance policies required that members have had their driver's license several years as a condition of membership (apparently a proxy for driving experience).
Now Mobility Carsharing Switzerland has developed a program for beginners that includes discounted 6 month membership with reduced insurance deductible. Learners must be attending (or have attended) a designated driver's ed course and must accompanied by another Mobility member at least 23 years old who has had their drivers license for 3 years (for which they provide discounted membership for, as well).
Usage rates under the Mobility4Learners are standard for their Budget class vehicles (Citroen C1 or equivalent): 2.80 CHF per hour and 0.54 CHF per kilometer (about $2.95 per hour + 91¢ per mile (yes, that's correct!)
I assume the clever program name Mobility4Learners will appeal to the target market segment (which reminds me too much of intentional phonetic mispellings by marketers - e.g. Krispy Kreme doughnuts, which I can't bring myself to use in text messages to this day.)
So bravo to Mobility for coming up with this program: May your 6 month membership rates zoom up and your insurance claims stay low! (And thanks to Carsharingblog.de for the tip on this program)
