Car Sharing / Rental (Car2Go, HourCar, etc.)

[Nick]

Saw a few of these today:


IMG_4490 by UrbanMSP, on Flickr

[RailBaronYarr]

I have to say the ability to leave it in any parking space in the city is a pretty cool feature of Car2Go, but also one of its drawbacks if not managed properly.

[Elsinore]

I was able to use my free 30 minutes this weekend on for two one-way trips, and I have to say that it worked pretty well. There's only 49 cars in use right now, so their locations aren't ideal right, but that should change when they expand to the 250 cars they originally talked about.

[RailBaronYarr]

Will they only use the Smart Fortwo or will they introduce a mix of cars with different seating/cargo capacity by chance? That's the major drawback for me starting a family and considering using that as a backup vehicle instead of owning a second..

[FISHMANPET]

Do these all have the same license plate number? I've seen a couple and I think they're all 259-LUG, but I could be wrong about that.

[Nick]

Do these all have the same license plate number? I've seen a couple and I think they're all 259-LUG, but I could be wrong about that.

Just saw a 287-LUJ. Might be a range or something?

Also, who moves these during snow emergencies?

[Silophant]

Looking at their website, where you can see where each car is, labeled by its license plate, they appear to all have ***-LUJ plates. Must have gotten them in a batch.

[RailBaronYarr]

Also, who moves these during snow emergencies?

I thought their policy was that they're not allowed to park on snow emergency routes, so would it be necessary? I can't find it on their website, but that would seem to be a good rule for any car sharing service (and towing fees are on the customer).

[David Greene]

Also, who moves these during snow emergencies?

I thought their policy was that they're not allowed to park on snow emergency routes, so would it be necessary? I can't find it on their website, but that would seem to be a good rule for any car sharing service (and towing fees are on the customer).

Even/Odd restrictions on non-snow emergency routes is still an issue.

[Nick]

There appears to be an Enterprise car share car parked on Oak Grove in a parking lot. So that brings us to four (Hourcar, Zipcar, Car2go, this one) companies now?

[mulad]

I saw an Enterprise Car Share ad on TV over the weekend. It didn't seem to be specifically made for the Twin Cities or anything, but I think it was a local ad buy.

I could have sworn I saw Enterprise cars with a special car-sharing logo on them back around a year ago, but they were still being rented out of one of their main lots as far as I could tell (I recall seeing them at East 7th and Lafayette Road in St. Paul).

[twinkess]

Used a Car2Go car last weekend. Used it one way from Lake St Cub back downtown for groceries. Was nice being able to park right infront of my building instead of having to walk to a ramp to use ZipCar.

I've now used both ZipCar and Car2Go. I think I might keep both as they both have uses. If my fiancee and I are going to drive out to her parents in the exurbs it makes sense to use the ZipCar, since it is cheaper per hour. Otherwise Car2Go for short trips.

They're both about as easy to use once you get to the vehicle. The car2go has a touch screen that has you answer a few questions about the condition of the car.

ZipCar is much more "stealthy", without the ads plastered so obviously. However I'm not sure I like the fact that with ZipCar you are responsible for any damage that happens between when you park the car and when the next person uses it. (http://money.cnn.com/2011/06/01/technol ... r_damages/)

[twincitizen]

You can currently sign up for a free lifetime Car2Go membership by using the promo code "VIKINGS". The regular price of a membership is $35. Even if you own a car, like I do, there really is no good excuse for not grabbing this membership for free. It even comes with 30 minutes free, which I think you have to use in the first month or something.

[eazydp]

Signed up for car2go after recent frustrations with my bus line. Gave it a try today to meet a colleague for lunch. The technology behind this system is really cool. My colleagues seemed really interested and had a lot of questions about how the 'one way aspect' of the car2go model works.

Pros: I found a car and was on the road easily, even as a first time user. The system is intuitive, as long as you know about scanning the card reader on the windshield. Smartcars could get to freeway speed. The cost of parking at meters and fuel built into base price. Great access in Uptown, UMN campus (edges) and DT. Service is not popular enough yet, so you can generally park and get back in to the same car2go if you need to make another trip. No monthly fees.

Con: Only room for two, and no options for folks with children in car seats. Price was a bit too high for me to use car2go over transit or biking. $0.38/mile, but tax is also included. 15 minute trip = $7 after tax, still more than competitive w/a taxi though. You are a driving billboard. No guarantee a car2go will be within a reasonable walking distance in certain neighborhoods. No bike racks and none in foreseeable future.

If you keep your ear to the ground, they offer a discount every few weeks. Really no reason not to sign up, even if you end up using it once or twice a year.

[FISHMANPET]

I was using omgtransit this morning to see when my bus was coming, and I discovered that it now shows you nearby car2go cars. I saw two nearby me according to the app, and sure enough I looked up and there were 2 of them on the street. It looks like it says how much gas is in the car as well as giving thumbs up or down for both the interior or exterior (I wasn't quite sure what that meant, I've never used one so are there ratings for the inside and outside of the car?).

[Silophant]

Yeah, it's condition ratings for the interior and exterior. Seems like a weird thing to put on the app, as I can't imagine walking up to a short-term rental car, seeing a scratch on the fender, and going 'nope, guess I'll walk to the grocery store across town then!' But, different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

[MNdible]

Does anybody know if these cars have any sort of "snapshot" like driving monitor? I saw somebody driving one of these cars like a bat out of hell the other day, blowing through a totally red light and going about 45 down a residential street.

[eazydp]

I'd be willing to bet they track GPS coordinates while you drive, so you can calculate speed and speed limit. I would also guessthere are privacy issues about releasing or reviewing that information for "catching" a bad driver, if that is what you are inferring.

[PhilmerPhil]

I'm definitely guilty of more aggressive driving in those things than in my own or work vehicle. Definitely not to the extent that you described, but when you're paying close to 45¢/minute you might get a temptation to try and make that light that's about to turn or to weave around slower moving traffic.

They do have some sort of monitor that tells you how eco friendly your driving style is. If you slam on the gas/brakes a little tree icon dies. If you drive smoothly and ease to speed, little bunny rabbits jump around. So maybe they're tracking users' habits for reference?

[Shawn]

If you report the location and time (or license plate if you get it) to Car2Go (or whoever it is) they will probably start monitoring that person or inform them they need to tighten up their driving habits. They're pretty concerned with tickets/reckless driving/complaints.