Outbound: The EV Carshare Changing How We Move and Build

Owning multiple cars just to navigate urban life felt inefficient, outdated, even burdensome. Instead of accepting the status quo, Rust asked a bold question: What if buildings came with access to electric vehicles, instead of just parking spots?

That question sparked the beginning of Outbound, an all-electric car-sharing service designed to partner with property developers and embed climate-friendly mobility directly into residential life.

Luke's idea wasn’t a moonshot. In fact, he found people in his own building already informally carpooling and sharing vehicles. From there, he connected with real estate veteran Marty Leuenberger, whose 18 years in property development (including the creation of Loftus Lane, adjacent to Greenhouse) gave him unique insight into what residential communities really need.

Together, they tackled two thorny problems at once: how to reduce the number of cars on the road, and how to meet the growing demand from developers for premium, sustainable transport amenities.

“To solve many of the climate challenges we have, we have to solve more day-to-day real issues for people.” — Luke Rust

Outbound’s solution is elegant in its simplicity: residents get access to a fleet of electric vehicles booked via a sleek app, powered by purpose-built software. Every trip plants trees. And the entire service is operated by Outbound, meaning developers and building owners aren’t saddled with the headaches of maintenance or insurance.

“We’re providing a service to the building. The building owners essentially pay us a fee to run that amenity for them, which takes the cost out of owning and maintaining the cars," Luke explained. "We share some of the revenues back with the building owners which helps them recover the costs; something that doesn’t often happen for building amenities.”

At the same time, the environmental and economic benefits are profound. With EVs replacing personal cars, developments can save on the cost and footprint of parking infrastructure - up to $120,000 per spot, according to Leuenberger. And residents save the $10,000–$15,000 annual cost of owning a second vehicle.

“It solves an affordability issue as well. You are not required to have a liability sitting there that costs $10-15k a year that is a depreciating asset.” — Marty Leuenberger

Outbound’s innovation isn’t limited to the vehicles themselves. A major part of their success has been the technology behind the scenes: a custom-built platform that handles bookings, tracks carbon savings, and supports building operators with emissions reporting.

“Australia is probably 5 years behind other parts of the world when it comes to this technology. There are existing operators doing similar things in the US and Europe. We sort of knew what ‘good’ looked like and we wanted to bring that thinking expertise and existing technology into this market and trial it here," Luke said.

As members of the Greenhouse community and a service available to Greenhouse members, Outbound is tapping into a broader conversation around climate tech in real estate. Sales agents are seeing a genuine uptick in buyer and renter interest in sustainability, and developers are actively planning for more flexible, networked amenities.

“There’s genuine interest from a future resident side into what the developer is doing for climate. It’s part of the sales strategy and it’s part of what goes into being a forward-thinking development, " Luke noted.

Despite starting at the luxury end of the market, Luke and Marty are adamant that Outbound’s mission is for everyone. As EV prices continue to drop, they see opportunities for broader adoption across diverse developments and communities.

“We know that we can’t solve the climate issue at just the luxury end but we want to make it a desirable solution that people want to use… this solution can apply at far more levels of society.” — Luke Rust

For now, the company is focused on growth, reliability, and integrating into the everyday lives of Australians. But their ambition goes further.

“We want to be a reliable, trusted service that half the population have on their phone, "Luke said. "They know how to find us, they know how it works, and it’s part of everyday life.”

Marty's take captured the pincer of their value proposition perfectly, “I want Outbound to be the decision point of whether you rent a place or not.”

As cities continue to evolve and the pressure to build greener, more efficient housing intensifies, Outbound offers a glimpse of what the future could look like: fewer cars, smarter mobility, and communities built with the climate in mind.

Learn more about Outbound here.

Outbound has three electric vehicles in Salesforce Tower that full-time members of Greenhouse can hire.