Article Picture source: Autoblog, author: JONATHON RAMSEY
They used these vehicles for some strange and unexpected purposes
American Marc Chavannes invented the bubble film in the 1960s, and the original intention was to use this material to create three-dimensional plastic wallpaper.
His creativity failed, but the bubble film was used as a packaging material to this day. The same situation also happened in Pello, which was originally a wallpaper cleaning product, but now it has become the colored mud brand of Hasbro.
According to the Asahi Shimbun, Japanese car sharing companies have also found that their users are happy to put their products into unexpected uses.
In this regard, Times24, the largest car sharing service company in Japan, conducted a survey, and the respondents provided a variety of answers, including as a place to take a nap, office space, and storage space when there is no storage bag nearby.
In addition to this, one lasting impact of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 appears to be the lack of public charging infrastructure, so there are also people who rent cars to charge their phones.
Other industry members also conducted research and also obtained various purposes other than driving. More importantly, despite the slow speed, users are doing other things through renting cars on an upward trend.
A questionnaire survey by mobile communications operator NTT Docomo found that more than 12% of users do not drive normally, and the "overwhelming majority" rent cars to chat with friends, family and corporate customers.
A small number of people said they would watch TV shows in the car, change Halloween costumes, perform facial stretching, practice singing and even rap.
There are also some people who rent cars just to find a place that is cool in summer or warm in winter.
"(We) do not recommend that customers use car rental for purposes other than travel." A spokesperson for Orix car rental company only gave such a reply.
Not to mention the potential dangers that may be caused by using cars as living space. If a shared vehicle cannot accumulate mileage, that is, it is truly used for driving, then the profits these services will bring to the company will be lower.
The extremely high population density also makes rents too high. But here, renting a car for 30 minutes is less than $4. That's why car-sharing has become a habitat for individuals, as they provide ubiquitous, affordable, semi-public space available 24 hours a day.
It is true that Japan has its own unique culture, and its understanding of shared services may be an exception. But the above situation shows the possibility of how users can use the space they rent. When a business develops a shared business to other cities or countries, it can be used as a warning.
