Vay’s new service is a combination of taxi and car sharing. Its operation is limited to a part of Hamburg for now, but the company’s plans are international.
Drivers in Berlin and Hamburg are already used to the remote-controlled Kia Niro with the inscription Vay on the door. The German start-up is testing its remote-controlled cars in these cities for the third year. Only now, however, has he received permission from the authorities that a driver does not necessarily have to sit behind the wheel, who would take over driving in the event of an emergency. In the residential district of Bergedorf in the eastern part of Hamburg, Vay’s cars can be driven on their own in a trial run.
The Vay service combines the price advantages of carsharing with the convenience of a taxi service. The electric car is ordered using a mobile application: the empty one arrives at the agreed place, from where the customer drives it himself to the destination. At the end of the journey, the rented car leaves again on its own. It is the first time ever that a car without people will drive on European roads.
The reason the authorities have allowed the car to move in normal traffic without a driver present is because it actually has a driver at every moment of its journey. He’s just not sitting directly behind the wheel, but at Vay’s headquarters. However, he has the same environment as if he were sitting in a real car. And that includes the haptic response of the buttons on the instrument panel and the resistance of the accelerator and brake pedals.
The fundamental difference is that he does not watch the traffic around him through the windows of the Kia Niro, but through a system of screens that, thanks to the panoramic cameras located in the car, offer him an unobstructed view in all directions. There are also microphones in the car that remotely transmit the surrounding noise to the driver. Which is important, for example, in a situation when an ambulance is approaching the car.
“With our electric car service, fewer vehicles can transport more people. This leaves more living space in cities,” says the start-up founder Thomas von der Ohe. “We are trying to reduce the high cost of mobility while increasing road safety.”
However, the idea with remotely controlled cars will primarily save money for the carsharing company itself. Its cars are always located where there is an interest in them, moreover, they are under surveillance at all times, which reduces the risk of their damage.
The advantage for the customer is also obvious: The car is available at the location of his choice, and he does not have to look for a parking space at the destination. He just gets off, just like he would a taxi.
The start-up aims to be cheaper than Bolt or Uber services. This is undoubtedly key to the company’s success, because unlike the competition, when driving with Vay, you must have a driver’s license and be sober.
