Cool Ride-Pooling is a first of its kind in Malta, a novel solution introduced by Debono Group. Somewhere between a private taxi service and public transport, it offers shared rides and pre-set rates. With traffic on Maltese roads increasing daily, Cool is providing a much-needed solution - saving time, money and users' carbon footprint.
The concept is simple: trips are booked via a dedicated app on either iPhone or Android. Riders enter details of their journey and are quickly added to a shared vehicle and picked up from a nearby corner. They're then dropped off within easy walking distance - on average, 100m - of their chosen location. All journeys come in at a fixed rate of €4.95 per passenger within a certain zone (and €3.95 if travelling to or from hospital). Now, when travelling a further distance across zones, for instance, from St Julian's to the airport, an extra €2.50 charge will apply.
Since launching in July, Cool's zones of operation have been limited to Attard, Balzan, Birguma, Birkirkara, Blata l-Bajda, Floriana, Gharghur, Guardamangia, Gzira, Hamrun, Ibragg, Iklin, Mriehel, Kappara, Lija, Madliena, Marsa, Msida, Naxxar, Swatar, Swieqi, Paceville, Pembroke, Pieta, Qormi, San Gwann, Sliema, St Julian's, St Venera, Ta' Xbiex, and Valletta. As of this week, the service will be extended into the neighbouring localities of Mdina, Mtarfa, Rabat, Ta' Qali, Zebbug, Paola and Luqa, including the airport. This is the first step in Cool's plan to eventually extend its ride-sharing service to everyone, everywhere on the island.
Expanding into seven new localities will build on Cool's already booming user base. Still in its first six months of operation, the app has had over 35,000 downloads and completed over 65,000 rides. The demand is increasing, with frequent requests from people living outside the current service zone. CEO Laura Jasenaite commented: "We've had an overwhelmingly positive response so far. People are loving the fixed price, ease of booking and stress-free drop off which frees them up from parking problems."
It's safe to say that Cool has been a success story so far and it looks like the only way is up from here. Jasenaite continues: "Many of the trips are booked during peak hours, like the morning and evening commute. This is proof that we're fulfilling one of our aims - to ease congestion on Maltese roads. Three passengers in a Cool vehicle means two less cars on the road."
To encourage regular ride-pooling, Cool has launched offers, students' discounts and monthly passes to lower the price per trip for frequent riders.
Ride-pooling is a huge step in the right direction for sustainability in Malta, moving us away from the one-person-per-car mentality that has exhausted our busy roads to breaking point. Cool is making sustainable, accessible and affordable travel a reality - a win-win for our people and our planet.
To find out more about Cool ride-pooling and to download the mobile phone app, visit www.cool.com.mt