GoCar Tours
Encyclopedia
GoCar is a two-seater, 3 wheeled vehicle that runs with a 49cc size scooter engine. It is legally classed as a scooter
to drive on the roads. The GoCars were created with the purpose of being rented to tourists as a different way to see a city.
.
GoCars have an integrated audio GPS system which runs through the patented navigation software "FoundAround". This allows the cars to give driving instructions to passengers around specific routes, at the same time as providing a tour guide-style commentary around a city. The tour is played to the passengers through two 4-inch speakers inside the Gocar. The software is custom designed for GPS Tour creation and uses a "tour Logic" to render to the user pertinent, contextual information.
The fiberglass
-bodied cars are 92 inches long and
weigh 380 pounds
. For registration purposes, the vehicle is considered a motorcycle, but because it has three wheels, it can be driven by anyone with a
regular Class C driver's license.
According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles
, they are approved for use on surface streets, but can't be driven on freeways or roads where the top speed is 45 mph.
in 2005. GoCars started being used as modes of transport available to rent in April 2004 by the company "GoCar Rentals Inc.Inc". The company then became a franchise
and soon opened in San Diego and Miami.
GoCar has since expanded into Europe
, launching in 2008 in Barcelona
and Lisbon
, followed by Valencia in 2009 and Madrid
in 2010. The GoCar franchise for other countries and cities are available to own.
.
The GoCar plays each audio file when it passes through one of the pre-recorded GPS trigger points along the tours, travelling in the default direction of the tour. Each audio file has its own unique trigger point along the tour to ensure that the correct file is played throughout the duration of the tour. If the GoCar defects from the route, the GPS will pass through a trigger point that plays a track notifying the driver that they have left the tour, and giving an instruction to return to the tour if the driver so wishes.
Scooter (motorcycle)
A scooter is a motorcycle with step-through frame and a platform for the operator's feet. Elements of scooter design have been present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motorcycles identifiable as scooters have been made from 1914 or earlier...
to drive on the roads. The GoCars were created with the purpose of being rented to tourists as a different way to see a city.
GoCar Attributes
GoCars run with a 49cc Scooter engine, made by Trigger Technics BV of Leiden, in the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
GoCars have an integrated audio GPS system which runs through the patented navigation software "FoundAround". This allows the cars to give driving instructions to passengers around specific routes, at the same time as providing a tour guide-style commentary around a city. The tour is played to the passengers through two 4-inch speakers inside the Gocar. The software is custom designed for GPS Tour creation and uses a "tour Logic" to render to the user pertinent, contextual information.
The fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
-bodied cars are 92 inches long and
weigh 380 pounds
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
. For registration purposes, the vehicle is considered a motorcycle, but because it has three wheels, it can be driven by anyone with a
regular Class C driver's license.
Driver's license
A driver's license/licence , or driving licence is an official document which states that a person may operate a motorized vehicle, such as a motorcycle, car, truck or a bus, on a public roadway. Most U.S...
According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles
California Department of Motor Vehicles
The California Department of Motor Vehicles is the state agency responsible for the registration of motor vehicles and boats and the issuance of driver's licenses in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for regulating new car dealers , commercial cargo carriers, private driving...
, they are approved for use on surface streets, but can't be driven on freeways or roads where the top speed is 45 mph.
History
The GoCar Concept was conceived, developed and created by Nathan Withrington and Alasdair Clements in 2003 and the tour service was launched in April 2004 San Francisco, USA. The software that drives the GoCar tour was patentedPatent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
in 2005. GoCars started being used as modes of transport available to rent in April 2004 by the company "GoCar Rentals Inc.Inc". The company then became a franchise
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
and soon opened in San Diego and Miami.
GoCar has since expanded into Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, launching in 2008 in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, followed by Valencia in 2009 and Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in 2010. The GoCar franchise for other countries and cities are available to own.
The Concept
The routes are created in order to navigate tourists around the largest places of interest that the city has to offer. The "FoundAround" software allows whatever type of commentary to be added along the tour, from informative sound bites to jokes and music, all in a number of different languagesLanguage
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
.
The GoCar plays each audio file when it passes through one of the pre-recorded GPS trigger points along the tours, travelling in the default direction of the tour. Each audio file has its own unique trigger point along the tour to ensure that the correct file is played throughout the duration of the tour. If the GoCar defects from the route, the GPS will pass through a trigger point that plays a track notifying the driver that they have left the tour, and giving an instruction to return to the tour if the driver so wishes.
External links
- http://www.gocartours.com/sandiego.html
- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/holidaytypeshub/article-614717/Driving-senoritas-wild-talking-car.html
- http://www.gocartours.es/fileadmin/user_upload/pressFiles/GoCar-USA-Today.pdf
- http://www.gocartours.es/fileadmin/user_upload/pressFiles/GoCar-San-Francisco-Chronicle.pdf