Japanese car-sharing companies have discovered that their vehicles are often being rented to sleep in, among other purposes. Upon realising that a number of their car bookings resulted in no miles being driven, two firms, Orix and Times24, conducted surveys to find out what customers were doing. The responses showed that many users were napping, eating lunch, working, storing items or charging electronic devices in the vehicles, as the JPY400 (around 400 yen) price of a 30-minute car rental was deemed more economical and easier to book than hotels, cyber cafes, coin lockers, or co-working spaces.
Japanese car-sharing companies have discovered that their vehicles are often being rented to sleep in, among other purposes. Upon realising that a number of their car bookings resulted in no miles being driven, two firms, Orix and Times24, conducted surveys to find out what customers were doing. The responses showed that many users were napping, eating lunch, working, storing items or charging electronic devices in the vehicles, as the JPY400 (less than $4) price of a 30-minute car rental was deemed more economical and easier to book than hotels, cyber cafes, coin lockers, or co-working spaces.