Volkswagen Unveils New Ride Sharing Concept for MOIA Mobility Start-Up

With MOIA, VW is aiming to significantly reduce traffic congestion in major cities. The ride-hailing service acts a lot like Uber Pool. Users order and pay for the ride through a smartphone app, and a pooling algorithm groups passengers with similar destinations together to increase the capacity for each vehicle and avoid detours. MOIA has also developed a driver-specific app and a fleet management system to help control the network of vehicles.

The MOIA service will launch in Hamburg, Germany at the end of 2018 before potentially expanding to other markets. Before then, the MOIA ride pooling vehicle pictured here will be officially presented at TechCrunch in 2018. The six-seater electric van was designed specifically for ride-sharing services and is thus comfortable and spacious for all passengers. Like a high-speed train car, each of the seats is also equipped with dimmable reading lights and USB ports, and the van also features onboard Wi-Fi. The van has a total range of around 186 miles.

SEE ALSO: Finally, a Ride-Sharing Service We’d Actually Use

“We started one year ago at TechCrunch in London with the vision of partnering with cities to improve the efficiency on their streets,” said Ole Harms, MOIA CEO. “We want to create a solution for the typical transport problems that cities face, such as traffic, air and noise pollution, and lack of space, while simultaneously helping them reach their sustainability goals. In a short time, we’ve laid the groundwork to add a new mobility component to the urban mix. In 2018, we’ll be ready to launch our ride pooling concept internationally and take the first steps toward our goal of reducing the number of cars in major cities by one million in Europe and the USA by 2025.”

MOIA has been testing its service in Hannover, Germany since October of this year using a fleet of 20 Volkswagen T6 Multivans. It will continue to develop the technology with this fleet of vehicles until the service launches late next year.

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