Since October 2017, a new generation of services previously unknown in this country, has been offered in Sofia. It provides an environmentally-friendly way to move around the city without polluting the atmosphere and without causing noise pollution. The shared electric travel service has already become an important part of urban mobility.

The idea of ​​renting an electric vehicle by the minute was realized in Lithuania in 2016 by a local entrepreneur and in Bulgaria it was transferred by the company building the country’s charging infrastructure. According to CEO Stefan Spasov, the shared transport initiative is an example of a long-term innovative investment.

“Using the electric vehicles rental service is quite easy and is done only through a mobile phone with a mobile app available for both Android phones and Apple iPhone,” Stefan Spasov says. “A special application is downloaded and one goes through a few simple steps for registration, document verification and verification of the person's identity. The system automatically processes the data and after the process is done, the electric vehicles can be hired. A special application shows where the nearest car is and one makes a reservation valid for 15 minutes. The car is unlocked by using the smartphone. The glove compartment contains the keys and documents. There is no time limit for the journey. After finishing using the electric car, people leave the keys and documents in the glove compartment again the session is ended through the phone after closing the doors. The car is locked automatically and is ready for the next user.”

The only condition to be met by the driver of an electric car is to have one year of driving experience and a valid driver's license. Preliminary deposits are not required, but in case of malicious actions, there are fines. The whole service is digital and a payment card is entered in the mobile application. It does not matter if it is a credit or debit one but the card must be a Mastercard or Visa. Payment is by the minute and the system automatically debits the amount. Despite the fact that the service is available only in Sofia, the only limitation for traveling with the shared electric cars is the fact you cannot cross the country’s borders. Wherever one goes, the car must be returned to Sofia to stop the trip. Stefan Spasov says that the company has covered nearly 40 percent of the territory of Sofia and now has more than 200 electric cars of different models and different classes that are in line with the requirements of customers. By the end of the year the fleet of cars is expected to rise above 300.

Mr. Spasov has pointed out the benefits of this type of service.

“There are many advantages in comparison to using a personal car. You have no cares in terms of paying insurance, parking, fuel. All of this, of course, is included in the cost of the service but this can actually be more cost-effective for you. Statistics show that in 90 percent of the time a personal car is not moving and becomes liability.”

On July 10, the transport service is also available in a third European country - Romania. We have great ambitions for developing the market there as Bucharest is a big city. We're going to invest a lot of energy in order to successfully implement the project there. Of course, we have been looking at other European markets, too, Stefan Spasov says in conclusion.

English: Alexander Markov