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

[talindsay]

Any guesses if/when Car2Go will expand to a Twin Cities suburb?

Isn't it already in St. Paul?

[MNdible]

[rimshot]

[Snelbian]

That joke never gets old. Really.

[talindsay]

That joke never gets old. Really.

I know, right?

[PhilmerPhil]

Car2go adding a $1 surcharge to all rentals is quite the bummer. Quick, spontaneous trips (<10min) are much less appealing now.

http://dcist.com/2015/05/it_is_about_to ... o_take.php

[RailBaronYarr]

Doubly so considering they recently upped the rates. Nice Ride will just have to keep stations open longer into the winter to compete

[intercomnut]

To be fair, the added $1 per hour reduces your deductible from $1000 to $250. To me, it's worth it.

[exiled_antipodean]

I have a hard time accepting this is a good deal for users. Yes, the deductible is being reduced but the cost of that deduction seems pretty high.

Using the figures in the car2go quarterly report you can estimate that with the expansion to St Paul the fleet is driving about 2 million miles a year. Based on national crash figures you'd expect about 10 crashes fleetwide in that same year. Probably less.

Also based on their report they're doing a little over 200,000 rentals in the Twin Cities each year. So the new fee would net $200,000. That seems excessive for what they're selling as a reduction in deductible.

[twinkess]

Also they stop collecting the $1 fee after you've taken 90 rides in a calendar year, but I'm no where near that I don't think.

[MNdible]

If they need to charge $1 to cover their costs, I'm not sure what the use in griping about it is. Presumably after a little bit of operations, insurance companies have reassessed their risk associated with a system like this and tweaked their rates accordingly, and Car2Go is passing that added cost along to their consumers, as you might well expect.

I mean, who'd guess that infrequent drivers driving unfamiliar cars while racing against the clock would be a high risk pool?

[PhilmerPhil]

I totally understand their need to cover costs, but would have preferred they increased the per minute rate instead. Since the price change, there have already been at least a couple instances where I have opted not to use Car2go and just stuck with the other options (bus/bike/Nice Ride/walking).

[mamundsen]

Car2Go question. There were two, then eventually one, and maybe it's gone now, Car2Go's parked on E Hennepin Ave near Insight Brewing. That stretch of roadway is signed as no parking (maybe even no stopping) during am and pm rush hours. Yet these cars sit and force larger cars/trucks and buses into the left lane. How have these not been tagged and towed and charged to whoever left it there???

[MNdible]

Does anybody have any experience/opinions about RelayRides? I may be late to the party, but I had no idea this existed.

[seanrichardryan]

There are usually 2 or3 Car2Gos on E Hennepin there, most days. I figure that entire stretch needs a 4-3 conversion. Trucks have creamed parked vehicles before in this area.

[mamundsen]

There are usually 2 or3 Car2Gos on E Hennepin there, most days. I figure that entire stretch needs a 4-3 conversion. Trucks have creamed parked vehicles before in this area.

But they are new, maybe the last few weeks. It's a very busy and tight area. I'd say no parking with the current setup. I guess my Car2Gp question was more about my understanding... I thought that they had to be parked in places that were legal parking 24-7. This would be similar to parking on 1st Ave in the warehouse dist where there are similar no parking during rush hours. Is my understanding wrong or is it not being enforced?

[billhelm]

There are usually 2 or3 Car2Gos on E Hennepin there, most days. I figure that entire stretch needs a 4-3 conversion. Trucks have creamed parked vehicles before in this area.

But they are new, maybe the last few weeks. It's a very busy and tight area. I'd say no parking with the current setup. I guess my Car2Gp question was more about my understanding... I thought that they had to be parked in places that were legal parking 24-7. This would be similar to parking on 1st Ave in the warehouse dist where there are similar no parking during rush hours. Is my understanding wrong or is it not being enforced?

They have to be left in places where they can be parked for at least 2 hours without any restrictions within that 2 hours. I've been in multiple vehicles downtown that got ticketed before I used them. So it's probably not being enforced over on East Hennepin.

https://www.car2go.com/common/data/loca ... ng_FAQ.pdf

[mamundsen]

There are usually 2 or3 Car2Gos on E Hennepin there, most days. I figure that entire stretch needs a 4-3 conversion. Trucks have creamed parked vehicles before in this area.

But they are new, maybe the last few weeks. It's a very busy and tight area. I'd say no parking with the current setup. I guess my Car2Gp question was more about my understanding... I thought that they had to be parked in places that were legal parking 24-7. This would be similar to parking on 1st Ave in the warehouse dist where there are similar no parking during rush hours. Is my understanding wrong or is it not being enforced?

They have to be left in places where they can be parked for at least 2 hours without any restrictions within that 2 hours. I've been in multiple vehicles downtown that got ticketed before I used them. So it's probably not being enforced over on East Hennepin.

https://www.car2go.com/common/data/loca ... ng_FAQ.pdf

I just read that document and it is mostly talking about meters. And it has this example:

Not allowed – Jim wants to park at a meter in downtown Minneapolis at 3pm Thursday afternoon. The meter he finds has a red band at the top stating “EXCEPT NO PARKING TOW AWAY ZONE 4PM-6PM MON-FRI”. He will be attending a Twins game that evening starting at 7pm and does not plan on returning to the car until after the game is over, which will be after the 4pm restriction takes effect. This is not ok because he cannot be sure that the car will be moved by another member before the restriction begins. Jim could be responsible for any applicable ticket and tow fees.

Can I end my trip at a restricted meters?
Feel free to end your rental at a restricted meter if you know you will be returning to move the car before the restriction begins. Do not assume that another member will use the car before the restriction begins. car2gos are not exempt from those time restrictions and may be subjected to tickets and tows. You may be held responsible for any ticket/tow fees that resulted from parking at a restricted meter.

As I said, I'm pretty sure these are parked illegally and the last user to drop them here could get hit with fees.

[billhelm]

I just read that document and it is mostly talking about meters. And it has this example:

Not allowed – Jim wants to park at a meter in downtown Minneapolis at 3pm Thursday afternoon. The meter he finds has a red band at the top stating “EXCEPT NO PARKING TOW AWAY ZONE 4PM-6PM MON-FRI”. He will be attending a Twins game that evening starting at 7pm and does not plan on returning to the car until after the game is over, which will be after the 4pm restriction takes effect. This is not ok because he cannot be sure that the car will be moved by another member before the restriction begins. Jim could be responsible for any applicable ticket and tow fees.

Can I end my trip at a restricted meters?
Feel free to end your rental at a restricted meter if you know you will be returning to move the car before the restriction begins. Do not assume that another member will use the car before the restriction begins. car2gos are not exempt from those time restrictions and may be subjected to tickets and tows. You may be held responsible for any ticket/tow fees that resulted from parking at a restricted meter.

As I said, I'm pretty sure these are parked illegally and the last user to drop them here could get hit with fees.

Yeah, you are probably right after I reread some of this. Though if they're not ticketed by the city then I doubt Car2Go does anything about it.

[twincitizen]

I thought that Car2Go's system actually prohibited you from parking in such areas (via GPS coordinates so precise they can tell what side of the street you're on and direction). Like you just can't end a trip in such "tow away zones", at least the metered ones.

If you look at the interactive map on their website, it's clear that Marquette and 2nd are "zoned out" of use, but 1st Ave N does not appear to have the same restriction.

There are other random little "bubbles" on the map too, like Lagoon Ave and Dean Parkway, so I'm not quite sure what's going on there.

[twinkess]

I know Car2Go prohibited me from stopping outside First Avenue on 1st Ave.