Most of you are familiar with the car share programs run by Zipcar, City CarShare, and the like: when you need a set of wheels, you go online, make a reservation, and pick up the car at its designated location.
Car2Go, a subsidiary of German automaker Daimler, has taken this concept one step further. They’re pioneering a program similar to bike sharing: members have access to any car in the network, without a reservation. Furthermore, the cars can be used for one-way trips, and left in any parking space free of charge (no need to return it to its original location).
In other words: if you walk out of the grocery store with too many bags to handle, you can jump in the nearest Car2Go, drive back to your home, and leave it in a public parking space out on your street (as long as it’s within the operating area).
My first thought: if you drove to the store, a restaurant, your friend’s house, etc., what would keep another member from taking the car while you’re inside and leaving you stranded? I found the answer on Car2Go’s website: you can use the key fob to indicate that you’re making an intermediate stop. This blocks the vehicle from being accessed by another party, and shows its “in use” status by a red blinking signal on the card reader.
The program is currently being tested in Austin, Texas, with a fleet of 200 Smart ForTwo cars. You can read more about it in this article from the Texas Tribune.
I think it’s a great way to practice minsumerism, and would love to see it rolled out to other cities in the near future!
{If you’d like to read more about minimalist living, please consider buying my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or subscribing to my RSS feed.}
that is so awesome. did look at buying a smart car decided to wait,embraced minimalist living instead.
What a great idea. I hope they bring this to the Phoenix area before too long.
I first became familiar with car-sharing when I lived in the DC area. I used the subway about 80% of the time to commute to work and my car on weekends. If I had to do it again, I would have ditched my car and used Zipcar when needed.
Unfortunately, where I live now and commute to, a car is a must, as these options are not readily available here. Ideally, I would love us to be a one-car only family, but that will take a lot of convincing on my part.
I love this! I also hope they bring this to Phoenix. I would sell my car and do this in a minute! I can take the light rail to work and walk to work and yoga. I hate the car maintenance issues. This morning my car didn’t want to start and I have to go after work to get the battery checked.
I just did some online research and found that zipcar is in downtown Phoenix! It is associated with ASU but those not affiliated with the University can join. I am now seriously considering getting rid of my car….
Love this idea! I have been a car-sharing member of Zipcar and I-Go (a Chicago program) for more than 6 years and am a huge proponent of car-sharing. However, always having to pick up and return the car at the same place is sometimes a hassle. I also know others who have hesitated to get rid of their cars and car-share for this reason so I think Car2Go is a great step forward.
Thank you for sharing this post! I had no idea about this program. I knew about something like it,where I live we have a program called Philly CarShare but this program is even better. I think Austin is also a great place to test start it as the area is progressive thinking and it’s more likely to succeed. Hopefully it’s successful and begins to spread. I’m going to post this link on the blog as well, very good info, thanks!
Love the idea too, and hope it spreads worldwide.
We have one car for my DH and I to share. He takes the car to the far out suburbs to use his telescope and for birdwatching. We walk to the grocery store in the summer and use the train or bus if possible, like going to downtown Chicago or a Dr’s appointment. Often, when we go to my son’s house we are bringing folding chairs and have a full car with my other son, my daughter and her boyfriend. Since we live in a close in suburb, public transportation is very convenient.