BMW Launches “DriveNow” Car-Sharing System in Munich
BMW Launches “DriveNow” Car-Sharing System in Munich
More signs that the era of the personal automobile may be slowly coming to an end: BMW is launching an interesting new car-sharing system in Munich next month, with plans to bring it worldwide.
Called DriveNow, the system will use about 300 cars—both Mini Coopers and BMW 1-Series models. After registering for the system for a one-time payment of €29 (about $41 at the moment), you can look up cars in your area, reserve a free one, unlock it electronically, drive it anywhere within the service boundaries, and drop it off wherever it’s convenient. For each ride you simply pay 29 cents per minute, up to €14.90 (about $21) per hour (you pay no extra for gas).
It seems like an especially simple system, and the price is reasonable. At $21 per hour, it would be cheaper than a cab—even cheaper than parking in some cities. The fact that every account is linked to a driver’s license will presumably deter theft and vandalism. Hopefully 300 cars will be enough to give Müncheners confidence that one will be available when they need it.
Here are a few videos demonstrating how the system works.
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Effective Retirement Age vs. Official Retirement Age
As we as humans get older, we find that we wish to be rewarded for our accomplishments that we achieved during life. One of the greatest luxuries that we receive towards the end of our lives is of when we can enter retirement. The official age of retirement and effective age of retirement are two different things that change from country to country. For example, although one may declare retirement at an earlier age than is officially possible, your retirement funds may not be able to kick in until your country has decided you are legally of retirement age. For example, although one in living in Mexico may wish to retire at the age of 65, as that is the official age of retirement in the country, it is rare that they can retire until they reach the effective age of retirement at year 73.
On the other hand, the countries of France and Austria have the lowest average retirement age, with people frequently being able to retire before their 60th Birthday and are actually able to effectively retire before they reach their countries official age of retirement. It seems wise that one who wishes to rest on their laurels and spend more and more time with their friends and family would wish to live in a country that has the lowest effective age of retirement possible.
