Shared Mobility
Israel's first ultra-Orthodox shared mobility brand
Co-founded in 2013 — Israel's first shared mobility service tailored to the ultra-Orthodox community. Launched across 7 Haredi cities.
The story behind
The category was created from scratch. Banks wouldn't finance, the market didn't understand, and the community was skeptical. We built it all — including a Sabbath protocol that's a world first. In parallel, we opened an international channel with the Mexican government. Exit in 2016.
Key Facts
Founded
June 2013
Co-founders
Aryeh Blumental, Shmuli Rosenberg
Initial fleet
8 cars
Launch cities
Bnei Brak, Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Ashdod, Elad, Beitar Illit, Modi'in Illit
2017 fleet
350 cars
2017 members
13,000 members
Monthly rides
19,000 rides
Fleet utilization
40% (close to break-even)
Exit
2016
One of City Car's unique technological innovations — an automatic system that powers down the entire fleet before Sabbath and reactivates after. Giving up ~14% of potential revenue actually became a competitive moat: generic players like GoTo Global and Car2Go couldn't replicate it and therefore couldn't penetrate the sector. Haredi sector success became a blueprint for emerging cities globally — leading to a 2015 partnership with the Mexican government.
In February 2017, City Car announced the addition of Smart Mercedes cars to its fleet — a significant milestone showing the venture's maturity. The partnership was covered by TheMarker, Bizzness and others.
In his own words
״I knew most Haredi families don't own a car, and the sharing economy is a concept familiar to them from daily life.״
״We are first and foremost a Sabbath-observant Haredi company, and that's how we'll remain.״
״The Haredi sector knows the sharing economy from gemachs. Now we're teaching the market about something new.״
Key metrics
📊 350 cars · 13K members · 7 cities · Mexico Gov't
✓ Outcome
Successful exit. The company continues under new ownership.
Press Coverage
Yediot Ahronot · 2017
Spare Wheel
Globes English · 2017
City Car targets ultra-Orthodox car sharing
Globes · 2017
The Haredi sector knows the sharing economy from gemachs
BHOL · 2017
City Car — The Haredi shared mobility revolution
Bizzness · 2017
Smart by Mercedes joins City Car
Haaretz · 2017
Ultra-Orthodox Zooming Ahead with Car-Sharing
TheMarker · 2017
Smart by Mercedes joins the shared mobility venture
Wikipedia · 2013
Wikipedia entry — City Car
Press coverage: Globes · Haaretz · TheMarker · Yediot
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