“The use of car-sharing among Estonian consumers is growing rapidly. For example, 46% more rides were made by CityBee customers in the first half of this year than in the same period last year. We believe this trend of using more car-sharing will continue,” said Egert Kivisaar, CityBee’s Estonian market manager. 

According to the Kivisaar, usage has increased for several reasons. “First, CityBee has been operating in Estonia for four years, and knowledge about the service is increasing, so more and more people have found car-sharing useful. Also, the implementation of a car tax encourages people to look for alternatives to owning private cars. Moreover, the economic situation in the country – with rising prices and cost of living, people are looking for ways to save money. It is perceived as a good alternative to owning a personal car if it is not needed daily.” 

In addition to the number of rides, the total mileage ride also increased by approximately 32% over the same period and reached almost 3,8 million kilometres. “The average trip in the first half of the year was 16 kilometres per ride, the busiest traffic can still be seen in and around the city centre and airport,” Kivisaar noted. 

Kivisaar adds that compared to last year, there is a trend towards more clients using CityBee cars for short trips. This is because CityBee can offer competitive prices not only for long journeys but also for short ones. 

According to CityBee Estonia country manager Egert Kivisaar, trip duration varies depending on the time of year. For example, the average journey duration is lower in winter than in summer, when the number of long journeys increases. In summer, travel duration increases by around 50%. 

Travelling across Baltic countries 

According to CityBee Estonia country manager Egert Kivisaar, Finland is currently the most popular destination for car travel. Although, more and more people are also visiting Riga, the capital of Latvia.  

“We are happy to see, that our customers in Estonia are interested in travelling in the Baltic States – car-sharing is increasingly used for cross-border travel. We want to encourage traveling in the Baltic States and make it easier for our customers to explore the cities and nature of Latvia and Lithuania. That is why we have decided to drop off the cross-border fee,” said Kivisaar. 

Starting a trip with a CityBee in one country, ending it and leaving the car in another would normally cost an additional 79 euros, but between August 1st and 31st, it will be free.  

For now, CityBee decided to remove this fee for August. This decision is valid in all three Baltic countries, and Kivisaar noted that if it proves successful, the company will consider extending the offer.  

BMW 118, VW Tiguan and Kia Sportage are the most preferred vehicles among CityBee users for domestic and cross-border trips.