I admit that it was not me “thinking green” what led me to the website of the local startup company, UFO Drive when I was looking for rental cars almost two weeks ago for a trip in Luxemburg.
My plane arrived very late in the city of Luxembourg and the otherwise helpful operator at my usual car hire could not promise that they wait for me at the desk with the keys (they advised me to go and see whether they are still there or not when I arrive 🙂 ). This was when I started to look for an alternative and found the above mentioned company.
Their mobile application was very user friendly. After giving in some basic data and sending the picture of my passport and driving license I could already choose the Tesla model (YES!) of my wish. Following the online payment there was nothing left to do till we landed; then a new icon appeared in the application which helped me to find the car in the parking lot as well as to open and close the doors. Somehow like this:
I resist the strong temptation to give a lengthy account of the driving experience. Let me share just one thought:
as someone being born in the 80’s I had been living through the age when there has not been any alternatives to cars with internal combustion engines. Then I have seen in the early 2000’s a growing number of people experimenting with electric cars despite of overall doubts and disbelief. As a youngster I have read a lot about conspiracy theories suggesting that oil companies make the lives and works of scientists searching for alternative engine solutions impossible.
In comparison to the above it is thrilling to experience a time when electric cars are at our fingertips or, to be more exact, at our smartphones. And of course the Tesla’s dashboard is amazing; however the most defining aspect of the whole experience was the strengthening of my belief that despite all our faults we are able to build a better and cleaner world together and to abandon globally the century-long harmful ways of life.
Only a week afterwards, sitting at breakfast in an elegant Budapest restaurant, I was enthusing over the whole experience. My friend soon made me aware of the fact that Hungary has also a similar service called GreenGo. This was when I realized that back in the summer when I walked around the inner city I was surprised to see the installed charging stations.
I took advantage of the opportunity and as soon as I could get a Hungarian phone number, I registered at GreenGo. Their mobile application was very similar to the Luxemburg one; the only difference was that instead of Teslas they filled up their fleet with the more modest Volkswagen cars.
One of the acronyms that stuck in my memory from my early computing lessons is WYSIWYG – “What You See Is What You Get” – means that our display shows something very similar to the printed results.
