Electric Car Rental Service Model Unveiled
As of next month, it will be possible to rent electric cars to allow a broader swath of the public to experience driving the vehicles, delivered to Estonia last year as part of a electromobility project.
The service will be available in Tallinn and Tartu by late June.
Electromobility program director Jarmo Tuisu said there will be 18 Nissan Leafs and six Mitsubishi iMiEVs available.
In Tallinn, the rental outlets will be in the Viru Keskus shopping center, bus station, Technopolis Ülemiste, Tammsaare Business Center and Tehnopol science park in Mustamäe. In Tartu, they will be located at the Ahhaa discovery center and the railway station.
Prospective users should first sign up online on the electromobility website, elmo.ee, and then order by any cell phone. There will be no keys exchanged. Users can either press a button if using a smartphone, or place a call using an ordinary phone. The cars can be dropped off at any outlet or at the charging stations within Tallinn or Tartu.
Customer service and fleet maintenance will be provided by a large security company, G4S.
The service is part of the deal signed between Estonia and Mitsubishi that brought several hundred electric cars to Estonia in exchange for unused carbon credits.