Digital carsharing marketplace Getaround announced in a statement a partnership with the City of Salem, Massachusetts, to increase access to reliable transportation and address, through car sharing, issues related to traffic, pollution, and congestion. Salem is one about 950 cities in which Getaround is active globally.

Getaround and the City of Salem are working together to add to the city’s multimodal transportation system that includes pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and drivers. The new program is making available nine all-wheel drive Ford Escape hybrid vehicles for an affordable community carsharing service via the Getaround platform.

“We’re excited to work with the city to provide an additional mobility option for community members that can have a positive impact on the environment by reducing congestion and improving air quality” said Adrienne Moretz, government partnerships manager, Getaround in the statement. “This car share program will serve as a complement to other transportation modes in the city, making alternatives to driving alone an easy choice for all types of trips.”

Getaround and its Connect technology will be used to provide contactless 24/7 access to the shared vehicles from designated parking spaces across the city and residents can reserve the vehicles for as little as one hour using the Getaround mobile app. 

“Expanding Getaround’s services into the City of Salem is a major milestone for the company and for our vision of making cities and communities better places to live, by empowering people with convenient access to the cars they need, when they need them,” said Nick Tenekedes, VP of marketplace, Getaround. “We look forward to partnering with the city and helping them achieve their mission to provide affordable and equitable transportation for all.”

“Salem has been on the forefront of innovating and piloting new ways to reduce the number of private passenger vehicles on our roads,” added Salem mayor, Kim Driscoll. “This helps us to address traffic congestion and also to lessen our community’s carbon footprint and our contributions to the climate crisis. The Getaround car share program will offer another tool to allow Salem residents to live in our city car-free or car-light.”