A New Movement in the City
Have you ever been stood at a bus stop or train station, waiting in the cold and wet for your unreliable form of public transport to take you to your desired destination? The answer is more than likely to be a resounding ‘yes’. I am also sure that the thought ‘If only I could afford a car, then I wouldn’t have to deal with this’ has crossed your mind. Well your wasted time with the incapable public transportation systems of this world may well be soon over, thanks to a revolutionary new concept designed to solve the problems of urban transportation. Welcome to the world of car2go!
Car2go is a concept developed by Daimler AG, designed to fill the middle ground between private car ownership and public transportation. A fleet of Smart Fortwos build a network of vehicles all over a city available for hire. Possible users include commuters, students, businesses and even families wanting the added convenience of a second car but without the extra cost.
The scheme was initially trialled in Ulm, southern Germany and Austin, Texas, as feasibility studies. Both were a resounding success and today Ulm has a membership count of over 20,000. Considering Ulm is a relatively small city with a population of around 120,000 the potential worldwide usage of this scheme is mindboggling. Further backing up this success, since the end of March 2009 when the service was launched to the wider public, almost 350,000 journeys have been made totalling more than 4 million kilometres travelled. Austin currently has a member count of just over 15,000 and over 150,000 rentals have been made since its launch in May 2010. That’s an average of over 4,000 rentals a week. Indeed, Hamburg in northern Germany is the next city to be introduced to car2go, where it is set to go live in April. The aim is to develop a network of car2go cities available for members across Europe and North America’s major metropolises.
How does it work?
Once registered, you receive a membership card, or chip on your driver’s license. You can easily find and book your car via their hotline, over the internet or through one of the car2go apps. You will receive a text message shortly before you rental is about to start giving you the exact location of your rental vehicle. To open the car you just have to swipe the membership card or chip against the receiver on the windscreen, and using RFID technology the car unlocks. Having evaluated the cars cleanliness through their rating system on the head-unit you are ready to set off! Once you have arrived at your destination just park your car in any legal parking spot or even easier in one of the pre-reserved exclusive car2go parking spots, which are usually found in popular car parks or near other points of interest within the operating area. Then re-swipe your card against the receiver and your rental is over.
The pricing scheme is designed as a two – part tariff, whereby members have to pay a one off registration fee and then pay a fee per minute for the usage of one of the car2go fleet. The per minute usage fee covers all costs including petrol, insurance, parking and maintenance. The cost effectiveness of this scheme is partially due to the standardisation of its parts. There is only one type of car, which means all the servicing, insurance and maintenance can be standardised for one model too. With the costs of motoring continually rising, car2go is a feasibly cheaper alternative to private car ownership.
Convenience
We all search for convenience in our modern day lives whether it’s in the kitchen, at the workplace or on the road. This is where car2go comes into its own. Unlike conventional car clubs or membership schemes, such as Zipcar or Connect by Hertz, you don’t have to say when you will return your vehicle and more importantly you don’t have to return it to same place as where you picked it up. Think of the countless number of one-way journeys people make during the day, this is exactly where car2go could fulfil its potential. Indeed, so far this scheme has been extremely popular with one-way journeys lasting typically under half an hour (9 out of 10 rentals end up somewhere different to where they started). As previously mentioned, the convenience aspect of the scheme is well supported by the availability of parking places exclusively for car2go drivers. Agreements have been set up in Ulm, Austin and now Hamburg with the local authorities for establishing such a network of parking places exclusively for car2go members.
Green advantages
When you think of a modern city, you tend to think of the hustle and bustle, millions of people and congested roads. Car2go can help to relieve traffic congestion and improve the environment within city living. Indeed studies on car sharing schemes suggest that per rental vehicle between 4 and 10 cars are taken off the road, just imagine for example if 1,500 smart car2go’s were implemented in London: that would mean up to 15,000 cars off the streets! The Smart Fortwo’s, with integrated solar panelled roof and stop-start technology to save fuel, emit a combined C02 emission of around just 90 g/km. The energy harvested from the solar panelled roof will be used to power the onboard telematics system, again enhancing the vehicles efficiency. A fleet of 1,500 Smart Fortwos in London could save the environment a potential 279 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. Furthermore car2go is committed to developing a smart electric fortwo; to help instigate investment in the required infrastructure needed for a fleet of electric vehicles in a city.
Car2go encapsulates many prevailing issues currently faced by city authorities: congestion, air quality, over-stretched public transport networks and the transition towards a greener economy whilst maintaining the city lifestyle. Car2go could just be the answer to their issues. Watch this space a new movement could be coming to your city very soon.