Skip to main content

Verizon launches Auto Share platform

Seeing an opportunity to streamline the way people rent, borrow and use vehicles, Verizon has announced a new car-sharing platform that allows drivers to rent vehicles by scanning a QR barcode with their mobile device. The announcement, made yesterday at the World Congress, promised that the wireless platform will be available by the end of the year.
September 8, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Michael Burgess of Verizon with the Auto Share application
Seeing an opportunity to streamline the way people rent, borrow and use vehicles, 1984 Verizon has announced a new car-sharing platform that allows drivers to rent vehicles by scanning a QR barcode with their mobile device. The announcement, made yesterday at the World Congress, promised that the wireless platform will be available by the end of the year.

According to Michael Burgess, a telematics representative for the company, Verizon Auto Share is just the first in a long line of possible share applications. Bicycles, construction equipment and government vehicles are just some items that Burgess says are shareable and need to be tracked and the renting process streamlined.

Verizon’s car-sharing mobile app is available on iOS, Android and Windows and allows drivers to search nearby cars available for sharing. The driver then has to scan a QR code on the vehicle’s windshield and authorise payment information. A key fob screen with lock/unlock, horn, trunk access and ignition functionality is then accessible.

No interaction is required with on-site attendants, and transactions over the Verizon wireless network are secured by Verizon Managed Security Services and Identity Verification.

The app can also be used for fleet management, helping organisations centralise location, diagnostic, usage and lifecycle information on a single mobile platform. Additional features such as in-car WiFi and fuel purchasing options will also be available.

Several cars connected to the Auto Share platform are being demoed during the show on Belle Isle. In addition, Burgess said that the company is in the process of setting up pilot programmes to field test the solution with rental car companies, dealerships and other organisations that rent or share vehicles.


Booth: 814
%$Linker: 2 Asset <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 47437 0 oLinkAsset <span class="mouselink">www.verizon.com </span> Verizon Website true /EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=47437 false false%>

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Lyft Green Mode option allows riders to request electric and hybrid vehicles
    April 17, 2019
    Lyft is launching a Green Mode feature within its app to provide riders in Seattle with the option to travel in an electric or hybrid vehicle. The move follows the company’s planned introduction of thousands of electric vehicles (EVs) onto its platform this year. Lyft says the deployment will allow its drivers to increase net earnings as it says the cost of travelling in an EV is half that of a petrol-powered car, therefore saving hundreds of dollars per month on fuel costs. Drivers can switch
  • Eyevis launches ‘unlimited’ video wall technology
    March 25, 2014
    Visitors to the Eyevis stand can see a host of new display wall technology including the latest eyeCON MetaWall 2.0, a new series of intelligent and a high luminance LED wall. MetaWall 2.0 is a flexible software-based system for signal transmission and the control of video walls and single displays. Using MetaWall 2.0 several video walls and single displays can be interconnected to a single user interface above the limit of one graphics controller. In the new EPU displays all image processing electronics
  • Scoot Networks to deploy electric scooters in Chile
    October 23, 2018
    Scoot Networks will gradually deploy 500 electric scooters in Santiago, Chile, to offer citizens a more sustainable mobility option. The pilot programme will take place in Las Condes' business district as part of an agreement with mayor Joaquin Lavin. Gonzalo Cortez, general manager for Santiago, says the scooters reduce air pollution, make streets safer, keep money in the local economy and makes mobility more affordable. In June, Scoot delivered 500 electric scooters and 1,000 electric bicycles in
  • Verizon plans to launch off-the-shelf telematics
    September 10, 2014
    ‘Bringing connectivity to every vehicle’ was the vision Lowell McAdam (pictured), chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications put before delegates at the second plenary session. He said by 2017 there will be three times more networked devices than people in the world and such connectivity could radically alter transportation. “GE estimates that connected technologies have the potential to reduce the global transportation industry’s demand for fuel by 14%.”