Cityhop currently provides cars by the hour to members in Auckland and Wellington. Reservations can be made by the hour on Cityhop's online booking system.

The hourly rate includes petrol, parking, cleaning and insurance. Vehicles are located in specific car share parks across the city and members access these using an RFID enabled membership card.

"Many businesses have begun to downsize their vehicle fleets and use car share. There are a number of CBD businesses that now have no vehicle fleet and just use our service," says Cityhop founder Victoria Carter.

She says hundreds of individuals are able to choose to not own a car and use one of Cityhops cars saving money and removing cars off the road. "We offer access not ownership," says Carter.

Urban apartment blocks are now also offering car share to provide occupier's vehicle access rather than provide private parking.

"This partnership provides an opportunity to accelerate growth in our existing markets as well as expand our service to more cities in New Zealand. Thousands more people will now have an opportunity to live with one less car, reduce urban congestion, save money, as well as help the environment," says Carter.

"We've been impressed with the Cityhop business. It's led the way in changing the transport landscape in the Auckland urban area by providing individuals and organisations access to a smart mobility solution that reduces the reliance on personal motor vehicles," says Toyota Financial Services chief executive officer Brent Knight.

"Cityhops aspiration to make cities better, more liveable places, aligns with Toyota's view of a future where urban transport is both more environmental and convenient.

"Our back-office processes, the operational support capabilities of our dealer network and of course our access to vehicles, will greatly assist Cityhop to expand - giving more people greater transportation options.

"Our goal is to help Cityhop grow and offer more people a wider range of transport alternatives in a much shorter space of time. Car share members will see a roll out of a wider range of passenger and commercial vehicles as well as mobility and electric vehicles," says Knight.