In May, the Turku City Library and Toyota Auto Finland Oy will start a new kind of experiment, during which you can borrow an electric car for your personal use with a library card. The experiment aims to offer near-emission-free forms of mobility with the lowest possible threshold. During the three-week trial, from May 8 to May 28, you can borrow an electric car from the Turku City Library through the usual lending procedure.
Libraries once brought the internet to everyone's reach, and today one of the roles of the library is to increase the knowledge of technology.
– Technological equality is an important value for us. We want to share information about new options and innovations, says Library Services Director Rebekka Pilppula from the Turku City Library.
The Turku City Library has implemented many kinds of experiments in recent years, so adding an electric car to the lending system was a good fit in that continuum. The city of Turku plans to be carbon neutral by 2029, and transport plays a significant role in achieving the goal.
– We were the first in Finland to introduce an electronic library bus. We now offer the possibility of borrowing an electric car from the library, and we are probably the first library in the world to do so. In Turku, it is always an honor to be the first, says Pilppula.
The experiment focuses on the core themes of library operations – the circular economy. The library's most important tasks are to produce various services as sustainably and as equally as possible.
The experiment's electric car partner is Toyota. The cooperation is based on unified visions, values and the will to create new opportunities. Toyota has a long history as a developer of low-emission technologies, and the loan car is a fully electric Toyota bZ4X.
– We are excited about the cooperation, which has resulted in a new way of making people's lives easier. It is always a pleasure to observe how, in principle, very different actors can share a similar values, says General Manager Mikko Kekäläinen from Toyota Auto Finland.
– We don't want to live in a world where advanced technology is accessible only for few. Free mobility for all is our core value, and in today's power train discussion, we want to offer alternative power train options to make our common goal possible for everyone, Kekäläinen continues.
Future forms of movement and the electrification of traffic are current topics of conversation. Many people contemplate how to reach even lower emission solutions and which of them are the best for them.
On Wednesday, 10 May 5:30 p.m., a discussion event will be held in the Studio of the Turku City Library's main library (Linnankatu 2). The theme of the discussion is mobility and sustainable urban planning now and in the future will be discussed. The discussion will be in Finnish and will be led by the library services director Rebekka Pilppula. Other panelists include:
You can borrow the electric car online through the Varaamo from May 8 to May 28. More detailed loan terms and instructions can be found on varaamo.fi/sahkoautokirjasto.
Additional information:
Rebekka Pilppula
Library Services Director
Turku City Library, Recreation Services, City of Turku
[email protected]
tel. 050 590 7691
Pekka Karvinen
PR Manager
Toyota Auto Finland Oy
[email protected]
tel. 0400 669 006
https://www.turku.fi/en/news/2023-04-28_electric-car-library
www.toyota.fi/sahkoautokirjasto
photos: Julio Giuseppi
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