How to Share the Fun: ReachNow with BMW & MINI
Judy Antell
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Seattle drivers have a new car share option, ReachNow.
Zipcar changed the game for urban car ownership, much like Starbucks changed the game for coffee shops. So it’s no surprise that Seattle, Starbuck’s birthplace, just launched a bespoke car sharing option featuring BMW and MINI cars.
With Zipcar, you can rent a car for as little as an hour; ReachNow prices its rentals by the minute (will a new company start pricing by the second?).
You can drive the electric BMW i3, which has the gasoline Range Extender that provides 130 to 150 miles of driving. Other cars include the all wheel drive BMW 328xi, two or four door MINI Coopers, and new to the fleet, MINI Clubman. The service also recently expanded to Southeast Seattle, West Seattle and Magnolia. Service is expected to include Sea-Tac International Airport soon.
Get where you need to go in style with Seattle’s ReachNow car sharing program. Photo: BMW
The rentals include gas and public metered parking, and you also pay per mile driven. What is really cool is that rentals are one way, so you could drive to a restaurant, have a couple of craft beers, and take an Uber home. You have to drop the car in the ReachNow “home area.”
Rentals are arranged through the app an can be reserved up to 30 minutes in advance; download for iPhone or for Android. Registration for the service is also through the app, and it takes just minutes; for early adopters, registration is free.
The car sharing program is similar to the BMW DriveNow car share, which operates in nine European cities.