Remember when Google Australia purchased two Mitsubishi i-MiEV cars to use around Sydney? My first question was how is a company with hundreds of staff going to share two cars effectively? Turns out that Google is doing just fine, though, with the cars booked out for weeks.
Google Australia’s engineering director seemingly solved the car-share conundrum by rewarding staff for getting to work sustainably. Riding a bike and taking the train for example wold score you points, or GoCred. Those points could then be cashed in to use the i-MiEV electric cars.
Turns out that it’s working, too. Google Australia writes on its blog:
Today, the two cars are used and ‘booked out’ for more than 80% of any given week. Over the last year and a half, the cars have travelled a combined total of about 36,000km, and they are completely powered by accredited GreenPower. To relate that to real-world carbon savings, a standard taxi produces about 190g/km of carbon. We estimate that we’ve almost six tons of carbon emissions since their cars’ introduction.
As a sign of their use, our electric cars are frequently dirty, covered in tree seeds, or even scratched and dented. The cars are booked out for business meetings, running errands and have even been used as wedding cars by yours truly!
Have you seen the Google-branded i-MiEVs whizzing about Sydney?
Image: Google Australia