Move About has lost a lot of money in recent years. In 2022, the company ended with an annual result of NOK 25 million in the red – before tax and interest. – Despite significant improvements over the past six months, the result is still not satisfactory, writes the Swedish parent company Move About Group in a press release. This means that more Norwegians are now losing their car sharing offer. Move About had cars in Rogaland, Arendal, Oslo and in several municipalities in the old Østfold county. – Move About has gone bankrupt, and this means that the 21 cars spread over six different locations in Stavanger are unfortunately no longer available, says communications manager Jon Dagsland at Kolumbus. 2021: Kolumbus launched a car fleet in Stavanger with SUVs, cars and vans. Photo: Kristoffer Apall / news In Rogaland, it was the bus company Kolumbus that rented out the Move About cars. – Fewer available cars as a result of the bankruptcy is obviously very negative for the citizens who use the car sharing service. Kolumbus has a great understanding that a poorer offer is frustrating for users, says Dagsland. Also affects employees In Halden, it is not just the residents who lose the offer, there the municipal employees also have to resort to other methods to get around. During the day, the Move About cars were used by employees of the municipality, while in the evening they were available to private individuals. – There is not much that has been clarified yet. The app is closed, the 23 cars are being picked up and the purchasing department is in contact with the trustee, says communications officer Lisa Gustavsen in Halden, who emphasizes that the municipality is not losing money from the bankruptcy. Communications manager, Jon Dagsland, in Kolumbus. Photo: Elisabeth Tønnessen Arendal and Indre Østfold have also had agreements with Move About. In Arendal, there will be new shared cars next year at the earliest. Indre Østfold will wait until the summer to decide whether the municipality will put in place a new car-sharing scheme. In Rogaland, they hope to have new cars in place early this autumn. – However, it will ultimately be up to the operators to assess whether they want to be established here in the area, says communications manager Dagsland. More bankruptcies The bankruptcy comes just ten months after Vy had to enter the years for its car-sharing service in Oslo. By then, Vy had lost almost NOK 90 million, according to Aftenposten. Move About Group believes that the market in Norway is too tough. Little has yet been clarified about further car sharing. Photo: Borghild Kvæven / news – The Norwegian market is characterized by fierce competition, says managing director Olof Jonasson of the Swedish parent company, according to the press release. – We consider that the Norwegian market needs consolidation. However, we are not going to take that role, and would rather focus on our activities in Sweden and Germany, Jonasson continues. Still popular Figures from the Institute of Transport Economics show that more and more Norwegians are using car sharing services. In 2021, 563,990 bookings were made, compared to 343,201 the previous year. But it is services such as Getaround – where people rent out their own car to others, and member-based services such as Bilkollektivet, which make up the majority.
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End of car sharing in several cities after bankruptcy – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
