BMW Speeds Carshare Access With App Upgrade
BMW North America LLC’s ReachNow mobility services program rolled out a “major software update” in April called ReachNow Fastlane, which reduced the company’s time between reservation and unlocking a car to less than 15 seconds — 4 times faster than before, Steve Banfield, the mobility service’s chief executive, told Auto Finance News.
The update “radically improved how members reserve, unlock, and lock our cars” he said. “The average time it takes to reserve the car is now less than 10 seconds, and to unlock a car using our app is less than 5 seconds. In the coming weeks, we will introduce additional enhancements that make using ReachNow as close to the experience that you have driving your personal private car.”
Currently, members can use the company’s app for its carsharing services, but ReachNow is working toward adding ride, reserve, and fleet services to the app for all three of its current markets: Brooklyn, N.Y.; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle.
The full suite of services — on-demand rideshare, car rentals as long as five days, the company’s original short-term fleet rental service, and a residential shared-ownership model — is currently in a pilot in Seattle only. The program charges $0.41 per minute to drive, and there’s currently no registration fee.
ReachNow celebrated its first anniversary in early April, and now has 45,000 members using its services in its three markets. “It was a busy year, ReachNow expanded in Seattle twice, launched in Portland and Brooklyn, and introduced our ecosystem strategy at the LA Auto Show,” Banfield said. “Since then, we’ve been focused on building out the services in our ecosystem. In the weeks and months ahead, you’ll see us focusing on the member experience.”
To learn more about the evolution of transportation, join us at the second annual Auto Finance Innovation 2017 conference, May 17-18 at the Hilton Bayfront in San Diego. Visit www.autofinanceinnovation.com to register or learn more. To request a media pass, contact Skylar Taylor at staylor@royalmedia.com.
