VIVe carsharing: irresistible for seniors in Rascafría
Today we visited the municipality of La Villa de Rascafría, north of Madrid. A town that, with barely 2,000 inhabitants, already has 2 carsharing cars available for residents and tourists. But this is not your average carsharing. This is VIVe by Hyundai, an exclusive car-sharing service for
Today we visited the municipality of La Villa de Rascafría, north of Madrid.
A village that, with barely 2,000 inhabitants, already has 2 carsharing cars available to residents and tourists.
But this is not your average carsharing. This is VIVe by Hyundai, a car-sharing service exclusively for municipalities in rural areas. Vehicles that are 100% electric and generate 0% emissions.
VIVe is changing everything in the village of Rascafría.
We get the full story from Julio Fernández, environment councillor, during a video interview for the Bequikly team.
What can you tell us about this highly innovative commitment made by Rascafría town council?
We learned about the VIVe project through the presentation held in La Hiruela, Madrid.
I was invited to the presentation and I found it very interesting for a municipality like this one, which sits at the end of a valley and has significant mobility problems. In Rascafría, the only transport available is a scheduled bus that passes through all the villages in the valley before reaching Madrid. What takes one hour by car takes two and a half hours by public transport.
That is why I found the idea of implementing this here extremely interesting. We started the project and we are very happy with it to date.
VIVe has now been running in Rascafría for four months. Do you feel anything has changed?
We can see that people are happy with the project because they now have more options to get to Madrid or to nearby villages.
Have you had the chance to talk to residents who use the VIVe cars?
Yes, several. In fact, all kinds of people have used the car, some, surprisingly, very elderly people.
How have the residents of Rascafría understood VIVe?
They see it as a benefit because it is a new way to get to Madrid and other villages quickly and even by sharing it.
Bear in mind that the hospital serving Rascafría is in Alcobendas, 80 km away. In fact, I know of several cases where people have shared the car to go down to the hospital or to get vaccinated.
We can see that carsharing is a safe means of transport despite the pandemic. No infections have occurred, right?
No, in the municipality, before the first user, we already put measures in place to clean the steering wheel, clean the areas of the car that are used, etc. And that, obviously, with the awareness that exists, they use it perfectly.
Would you have imagined such a project a couple of years ago?
No, not at all. That is why I was so surprised when I saw it in La Hiruela. It took me no time at all, a minute, to decide that we wanted to implement it here. I mentioned it to my colleagues on the governing team and they all thought it was a great idea.
Do you think other municipalities should give this initiative a chance?
I am convinced of it.
It is a perfect service, with a very low cost for the user and, of course, for the town council itself, to bring the rural environment closer to large cities. It is a very innovative idea.
In fact, in other municipalities, people have seen me with the car, or I know of residents who have been asked about it, and mayors and councillors have shown interest in our project.
Above all, the signage on the cars surprises people, doesn't it? So they ask. And when it is explained to them, they say: “I want this for my village too”.
What can you tell us about the technology that powers VIVe?
Honestly, Dealerbest has developed a very, very easy-to-use application. Very convenient.
The user handles it without any difficulty. You can tell there is a tremendous effort to improve and maintain the application. As I said, there are very elderly people who are using the car without any problem.
And once they use them, they love them, and that is why they keep using them.
Behind all the technology there is a human team. How important do you think that is?
The team is extremely important.
I know the Dealerbest team and they are young people with whom we are in constant contact, and any request we make gets an immediate response.
I encourage any other town councils that are interested to come here, talk to us, try the cars, see how easy they are to use and the benefit of bringing villages like this one, at the end of a beautiful valley, closer to large cities.
What did you think of the new way of getting around for the residents of Rascafría? Do you think it could work in your town?
If you want to sign up and enjoy the VIVe initiative by Hyundai,
