Maven, General Motors’ personal mobility brand, says it is working with the City of Los Angeles to evolve mobility and provide easier, more sustainable options by introducing the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle (EV) to the Los Angeles car-sharing and ridesharing services fleet.
According to Maven, its car-sharing application complements Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s vision to leverage multi-modal transportation solutions to advance mobility and encourage more EVs in the market. The collaboration is expected to increase opportunities in Los Angeles neighborhoods, from reducing mobility barriers to exposing all communities to transportation electrification.
As reported, Maven City car sharing in Los Angeles has seen an average of 56% member growth month over month since launching in October 2016, and Maven will leverage this existing platform, as well as in-city infrastructure, fleet management capabilities and operational insights, to help advance the City of Los Angeles’ Sustainable City pLAn.
The brand says Maven members will play an integral role in informing the co-creation process and will provide valuable insights for future infrastructure and transportation developments.
Specifically, Maven says the Chevrolet Bolt EV, with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-estimated range of 238 miles, has launched in Los Angeles in the Maven City car sharing and the Lyft Express Drive program. Maven supplies vehicles for Lyft’s Express Drive program, providing Lyft drivers with affordable access to weekly rentals of GM vehicles in select cities. By adding the Bolt EV, Maven could allow for up to 250,000 all-electric miles driven per month across all of its offerings.
Maven also plans to offer the Bolt EV in San Francisco and San Diego.
To support the introduction of the Bolt EV to the Maven platform, the team is working with infrastructure providers on building a more effective, robust EV charging network. Drivers using the Bolt EVs, for example, will have access to free charging for a limited time via the entire EVgo Freedom Station network throughout California.
Maven is also working with each of California’s investor-owned utilities, as well as the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, on infrastructure projects that can help encourage the use of EVs in the sharing economy. The brand plans to collaborate with additional metropolitan cities to advance the development of future applications, including a fully electric autonomous network of vehicles tied to mass transportation stations.
According to the company, Maven is the only program to offer the Bolt EV for both car-sharing and ridesharing applications, providing immediate solutions for real-world mobility issues.
Within 13 months, Maven has launched three products and grown to 17 cities in the U.S. and Canada: Ann Arbor, Mich.; Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Denver; Detroit; Los Angeles; Jersey City, N.J.; Nashville; New York City; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix; San Diego; San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; and Waterloo, Ontario.
“Maven is a smart, seamless and flexible mobility platform providing sharing solutions that meet the different needs of unique communities,” says Julia Steyn, vice president for General Motors urban mobility and Maven. “Starting with Los Angeles, Maven will focus on collaborating with cities and municipalities to co-create smart transportation solutions that enhance mobility, create jobs, and ease parking and congestion.”
