A partnership which will allow Swedes to pool cars has been formed by Statoil and Swedish telecommunications group Telia.
This solution could also be adopted in Norway and Denmark. It would be relevant for such organisations as housing cooperatives, says project manager Lennart Ljung in Marketing.
When a cooperative wants to collaborate on a car pool, Statoil will chart demand and identify how many vehicles are required. Telia is responsible for the communications side.
Car pools could also be appropriate for companies, organisations and other groups of people.
The idea is that somebody who needs a car books this via the internet, an intranet or a telephone with voice mail. People in a plan can access the local booking system via their own PC.
Once a booking has been confirmed, the car user is allocated a smart card with their personal code and locking function. This card will also be used to start the vehicle.
The Telia system registers how long the car is in use and the distance driven, so that each customer can be invoiced on a monthly basis.
Various departments at Statoil's Stockholm office will test the scheme in practice before it is launched nationwide in Sweden, probably at the New Year.
The group expects to extend the car pool plan to Denmark and Norway during 1999-2000 through dedicated units at its car hire subsidiaries in the three Scandinavian countries.
Calculations put the total potential market in Sweden at roughly 45 000 pool cars in 2009. Electric vehicles will also be included in the scheme.