Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

BMW’s ReachNow car sharing service is headed to Portland

Andrew Hard
By

BMW ReachNow
Earlier this year, a new car-sharing service called ReachNow debuted in Seattle, Washington. Owned by BMW, the brand allows those without wheels to scoot around town in vehicles like the 328xi, the all-electric i3, and the Mini Clubman, offering a unique experience compared to companies like Car2go.

We were intrigued by the premise of on-demand mobility with a luxury focus, so we trekked up to Seattle to give the service a try for ourselves. You can read our full impressions here, but thankfully, the company is now launching right in Digital Trends’ backyard of Portland, Oregon on September 19.

Recommended Videos

Ahead of that date though, ReachNow is offering a Preview Drive where the one-time membership cost of $39 is waived, meaning the only costs for the time being are 41 cents per minute of driving and 30 cents per minute while parked. That’s a pretty solid deal for Portlanders, but be advised, the registration fee and driving rates will return normal after the introductory period ends.

BMW ReachNow

“As a pioneering city for transportation alternatives, Portland is proud to welcome ReachNow,” said Leah Treat, Director of Portland’s Bureau of Transportation. “On-demand car sharing supports our existing transit and bike infrastructure, helping Portlanders get where they need to go, when they need to be there.”

Read more: BMW’s ReachNow service is flooding Seattle with cheap, easy transportation

Using ReachNow is straightforward — simply download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play, after which you register your information and initiate a two-minute approval process. After that, you find a car within the “Home Area” (currently the Convention Center, Central Eastside, Downtown, and the Pearl District), drive, and return it within the Home Area when you’re done.

The BMW 3 Series, Mini Clubman, and two-door hardtop Mini will be the first vehicles to launch as a part of ReachNow’s Portland fleet, but the BMW i3 and X1 crossover will be added by the end of the year. According to brand CEO Steve Banfield, some 260 cars will be on the streets by the official launch date.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Andrew Hard
Andrew Hard
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Andrew first started writing in middle school and hasn't put the pen down since. Whether it's technology, music, sports, or…
The Dinan-tuned M2 S2 turns BMW’s modern classic up to eleven
bmw tuner dinan gives the m2 a performance focused makeover we go for spin s2 press shots 5

The BMW M2 is a spiffy coupe right out of the gate, but what would it take to make it better? If you ask Nathan Fette of Dinan, a tuning company based in Morgan Hill, CA, it starts with one overriding objective: “to develop the fastest, best handling and most reliable, street legal cars available anywhere.”

It’s going to take a little more than a hearty spirit, mind you. You’ll need a litany of upgrades, more power, and some careful engineering to better one of the best from the Bavarian automaker. With that in mind, We sat down with the folks from Dinan to get a better understanding of the company’s strategy when tuning a vehicle like the BMW M2, and then headed out to some of our favorite Californian backroads for some seat time in their latest offering.
Improving performance without typical aftermarket caveats
The tuning company’s tweaks to the diminutive coupe are extensive enough to warrant a new name, the Dinan M2 S2, and the modifications touch on the drive train, suspension, brakes, rolling stock, and aesthetics to elevate the car into a performance realm beyond what the factory had in mind. “Our goal is to make the driving experience even more exciting without sacrificing the refined handling, reliability or warranty coverage that owners of such vehicles can come to expect,” Fette explains.

Read more
BMW wants to have the ‘coolest’ car-sharing service in town
BMW ReachNow

BMW says it has ambitions to create the "coolest" car-sharing service available, one that will ultimately be powered by its self-driving technology.

Pushing ahead with its autonomous car project, the German automaker on Friday revealed plans for a new test center in Munich set to open next year, Reuters reported.

Read more
BMW's ReachNow expands to Brooklyn, adds key mobility services
bmw-reachnow-image

It has been a busy seven months for BMW’s carsharing service, ReachNow. Following a pilot launch in Seattle, the company quickly expanded to Portland, Oregon, and will now operate in Brooklyn, New York as well.

ReachNow CEO Steve Banfield announced the service’s third city, along with several new mobility services, at this year’s Automobility LA Technology Pavilion. Digital Trends sat down with Banfield following the press conference to review the startup’s aggressive growth and vision for the future.

Read more