Mobility of the future
i&any: Ridepooling – sustainable and affordable travel through Zurich
14.06.2023
Read about i&any’s new ridepooling scheme that has you sharing rides with others. Driver Rajaa talks about her daily routine and the positive feedback she gets from her passengers. More
“Come in!“ Rajaa Kharaz, 45, sits behind the wheel and smiles. The air in the fully electric VW ID. Buzz smells pleasantly fresh. The vehicle’s spotlessly clean and tidy throughout. “It’s great, isn't it? I can even have my back warmed,” says the driver of Mobility’s new i&any service proudly. Launched in April, the convenient, inexpensive ridepooling scheme has customers sharing rides with others. It is initially available in Zurich, from Thursday to Sunday, from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Ridepooling – a trend
Ridepooling? The portmanteau word is composed of the American term “ride”, meaning journey, and “pooling”, referring to a pool of several passengers. If you choose Mobility i&any, you don’t necessarily drive alone, but also with others who have to drive in the same direction. However, this is not a must. Journeys are shared, but only when it’s efficient for everyone. The routes and requests are coordinated by intelligent algorithms.
A different term, “ridesharing”, refers to private car sharing without a professional basis. “Ridehailing” is the third word in the group: It refers to a driving service in which users enter their start and destination in an app, whereupon their request is handled by a driver, such as Uber. Individual vehicles therefore only serve one request at a time. This is also known from the taxi service.
Sharing rides by means of ridepooling, however, is particularly sustainable and cost-effective, especially if the vehicle’s electric. The scheme is aimed at people with an environmental ethic and who are flexible when it comes to getting from A to B. Recent years have seen various transport providers conduct pilot ridepooling trials – including Mobility. The positive experience gained and the trend towards new environmentally benign mobility concepts have now prompted the cooperative to launch its i&any ridepooling service.
How it works
Using the i&any app, you book a ride from A to B in an electric vehicle. The professional driver picks up passengers at virtual stops dotted throughout the city of Zurich. By the way: You don’t need a Mobility subscription or membership. The routes and enquiries are optimised and coordinated using intelligent algorithms (AI). This helps keep vehicle numbers and travel costs down. The system also keeps empty running and downtime to a minimum. Good for the environment, good for your wallet!
All information is available at: www.iandany.ch
The driving experience
Rajaa has been with i&any since its launch and is delighted with her new place of work: “The car is extremely comfortable and offers plenty of space. I love all the driver-assistance systems – they make driving around even safer. And I’m amazed how quiet the vehicle is! It’s my first electric vehicle.”
Rajaa, who’s lived in Germany and Switzerland for twenty years, has driven many thousands of kilometres in a private capacity – “Accident-free so far!“, says the experienced driver. For example, she drives all the way to her home country of Morocco with her three children, the car packed with homemade snacks such as freshly baked Moroccan flatbread. “That’s about eighteen hours per journey, so you need enough food to keep the crowd happy.” Rajaa enjoys cooking for her family, draws artistic tattoos on her sisters’ hands with henna and loves smoking her shisha alone in the evening. “I enjoy life,” she grins. “This permanent position as a driver suits me to a T.”
“It’s enjoyable”
Whenever she talks, she keeps pulling out her phone and taps on the right photo in her gallery within seconds: “I have proof for everything. These three young women, for example, were my first passengers,” she says, holding up the display. It shows: jokes and singing in the backseat. “They got in on the spur of the moment, because they were curious about the vehicle and its inscription. We downloaded the app together and off we went.” The three would have appreciated that she was a permanent driver. “They said: A woman! That makes us feel at ease,” says Rajaa, who works a 60 percent contract. A total of seven Mobility electric vehicles provide i&any’s weekend evening service. Who uses the service? “Young people to pensioners, all kinds of different people!” she replies. Then Rajaa suddenly nods towards the window: “Look, people are pointing at our car. They’re curious.”
A colleague of Rajaa pulls up next to her. He lowers his window and asks if they should have a pizza during the break. She nods and says: “I like the atmosphere in the team. Nobody is complicated.” Although she has to work at night as a woman, she feels safe: “Mobility is behind me. The technical people can see where I am at any given moment, and we’re always in touch.” Then she receives a message: Someone would like to board at the next stop. Rajaa’s pleased: “Enough waiting, let’s go: Let’s see who gets on board!”
«I was intrigued when someone told me about i&any. I tried it when I had to get home after meeting friends. What I particularly liked is the app, which is easy to use, and the fact that the service is cheaper than other options.»Alessandro, 17, a pupil at the Rämibühl cantonal school
«A friend suggested I give i&any a try, and I needed a safe and easy way to get home after an evening out. The car was very modern and very stylish! When the doors opened, the interior lit up luxuriously and I was able to enjoy the ride home in all comfort.»Ellie, 19, student
«I saw i&any on television and downloaded the app. I just wanted to see how the scheme worked. Similar concepts are already up and running abroad. I then tried it to get home after meeting up with friends. I loved the ID. Buzz that picked me up. It was brand new, modern and I had lots of space. The driver drove very well and didn’t talk that much, which I liked.»Peter, 34, bank worker