The electric vehicle sharing service Choimobi, which started in Yokohama, Japan for a year-long trial on Oct. 11, is proving a hit. In the first month, the number of people who registered to use the service jointly operated by Nissan and the city of Yokohama topped 2,700. The aim is to sign up 10,000 users during its first year trial run. Choimob service saves traveling time and costs, and in combination with public transportation, allows users to travel to more places. Choimobi is an ultra-compact tandem two-seat electric vehicle. Preregistration is necessary to use the service, which costs 20 yen (20 cents) per minute. The integration of car-sharing, ultra-compact EVs and public transportation gives people new options of how to get around the city.
The service originally started with 30 cars and is fully booked on holidays and weekends. In response to demand, Nissan decided to increase the number of cars from 30 to 50 as well as the number of stations from 45 to 54. Places where new stations are to be introduced include districts near Chinatown and the Landmark Tower in the city.
Nissan is receiving more applications for the weekend safety training program classes than each class can accommodate. The limit for each class is 72 people. More than half of the people seeking Choimobi service are Yokohama residents, mostly in their 40s or younger.

