Comprehensive connectivity through E-Car Sharing
There is no way around switching to environmentally conscious alternatives - and this also applies to the transport industry.
Stadtwerke Kufstein recognised this and set up Beecar, a comprehensive e-car sharing service for Kufstein. Theoretically, all residents of the city can do without their own car and use this sustainable option. In the future, the possibilities are to be extended to several areas and enlarged through cooperation.
Environmentally conscious, economical, attractive – this is how the car sharing offer with electric vehicles from Beecar can be summarised. The name actually stands for ‚be (an) e-car‘, but is pronounced as ‚Beecar‘ (‚bee car‘), which in turn was also included in the design. Beecar is a low-cost alternative to owning a car that is available to all residents in Kufstein – in less than ten minutes‘ walk everyone has access to an e-car. ‚People who live in the city usually have a second car, but it is rarely used. At the same time, I have to pay a lot for an underground parking space or for a parking space. E-car sharing is something innovative that counteracts this. I can simply use a car when I need it and don’t have to pay for it all the time, even though it’s just standing around‚, says Martin Tschurtschenthaler, Beecar project manager at Stadtwerke Kufstein.
Advantages upon advantages
The vehicles can be easily reserved via a booking platform and the drivers can plan trips both within Austria and abroad. Payment is based on the rental period and distance. The user fee includes many services such as insurance, electricity costs, vehicle cleaning and the digital vignette for Austria’s motorways. For the users, it’s just a matter of getting in and driving off, as Tschurtschenthaler explains: ‚Having your own car costs insurance, you have to pay for leasing, change tyres and much more. This is not the case with Beecar, because we do all that,‚ explains Tschurtschenthaler. The customers also drive 100 % with electric power, without exhaust fumes and without noise. With environmentally friendly mobility, they automatically contribute to climate protection.
Electromobility and ‚Tirol 2050‘
Beecar started in 2018 with three vehicles and has since expanded to 18 vehicles at 14 locations. As a result, Kufstein has become the first city in Austria to boast a comprehensive e-car sharing service. In addition, the aim is not only to promote their own concept, but also to draw attention to different forms of mobility in general or to bundle them. Therefore, Beecar offers tariffs that include a free ‚KufsteinCard‘ – which includes rides on the city bus or the Kaiserlift. Furthermore, Beecar can be combined with the VVT annual ticket through the additional option ‚Carsharing Tirol 2050‘, which in turn creates an incentive to use public transport. For this, those responsible were awarded the VCÖ Mobility Prize.
Beecar supports the campaign ‚So fährt Tirol 2050‘, which is about electric mobility and alternative mobility solutions. The goal is to achieve energy autonomy by reducing energy demand and using renewable energies. Beecar combines both advantages and thus contributes significantly to e-mobility. In the coming years, this sustainable path is to be steadily expanded. In spring 2022, a fourth municipality, Thiersee, was therefore included in the project with two vehicles. Work is currently underway to set up another location in the municipality of Schwoich. In addition, there are already special cooperations in the tourism sector with hotels, which are also to be expanded in order to further increase occupancy. In the future, it will be ‚use‘ instead of ‚own‘.
Further links (in German only):
Beecar is a member of the Green Filming Database Marktplace Tirol. There you will find products and services from regional and sustainable Tyrolean companies that can be used for your film production.
Moreoever, Beecar is a Tyrolean success story. Lebensraum Tirol Holding, in cooperation with its subsidiaries (Tirol Tourist Board, Standortagentur Tirol and Agrarmarketing Tirol), brings special companies, projects, initiatives and people before the curtain. What they all have in common is that they play a pioneering role and act as role models for sustainability and responsible business. They contribute to the sustainability of the Tyrolean economy, society and environment and encourage the dissemination of sustainable change concepts. You can find more Tyrolean success stories here (in German only).