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

  • Kapsch debuts V2X system integration
    September 7, 2014
    Kapsch is using the ITS World Congress Detroit to show for the first time the company’s V2X end-to-end capabilities by demonstrating the full V2X system integration, incorporated into its Dynac Traffic Management solution. (Communication from Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) or vice versa (I2V), or from Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) is commonly called “V2X”.)
  • Groupe PSA trials car-sharing service in Washington, DC
    October 31, 2018
    French car manufacturer Groupe PSA says its ‘free-floating’ car-share service provides members in Washington, DC with access to 600 vehicles. The Free2Move service is available to drivers for a $10 membership fee and does not include late fees, per trip fees or insurance charges, the company adds. Members can use the Free2Move app to locate, book and open/lock the vehicles. This pilot coincides with Maven’s announcement to expand its peer-to-peer car-share service in Washington, DC – and other US
  • EasyPark aims to minimise parking hassle
    March 26, 2014
    Motorists drive to a location to do something, not to park. Minimising the effort required to park is the aim of a new system that integrates EasyPark’s new in-car parking payment app with the forthcoming Volvo Sensus Connect in-car information and navigation system. When a motorist parks up, at a location suggested by Sensus Connect close to the driver’s stated destination, they receive a message on the dashboard display asking if they wish to start a parking transaction.
  • Telegra’s new LED signs can withstand submersion
    March 26, 2014
    Telegra has gone to unusual lengths to demonstrate the sealing of its Nextgen series of variable message signs – and has immersed a working panel in a water column on its stand. Sealed to IP67/MENA 6 standard, the panels use groups of three single-coloured LEDs with the light output shaped by a bespoke lens system to enable a wide gamut of colours to be displayed on the signs.