Thanks to German company Car2Go, Austin Texas should be seeing SmartCars in a new light. The year old pilot program could be expanded within the car-sharing service to all city and state officials in Austin. Car2Go is a car-sharing service that charges users by the minute for use of SmartCars, a model that is becoming increasingly popular in large cities.
How it works with Car2Go
Car2Go is a system in car-sharing that places quite a few cars in one urban area. “Members” of Car2Go can then use their smart card to rent the cars by the minute. Anywhere within the Car2Go area, the Car2Go vehicle can be picked up or dropped off. With 35 cents per minute rental, Car2Go bridges the gap for urban residents that don’t have a vehicle but need one once in a while.
Car2Go vs. ZipCar
As an American business, founded in 2000, ZipCar is presently operating in 49 U.S. cities also as in Toronto, London, and Vancouver. After getting the Flexcar on board in 2007, ZipCar had about 50 percent of the auto sharing in their hands. Both Cars2Go and ZipCars rely on their “members” to unlock and rent the cars. ZipCar also has partnerships with numerous U.S. companies and universities that help students and commuters time-share their cars.
Benefits of car sharing
ZipCar and Car2Go are just two companies that both are part of the growing number of car-sharing services being offered within the US and around the world. Several large cities around the United States, including Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Buffalo, San Francisco, Boulder, New York City, Denver, Salt Lake City, all have start-up car sharing networks. The automobile sharing system is a lot more environmentally friendly, reduce congestion, and increase flexibility. Also, large companies such as Car2Go and ZipCar will use electric and hybrid cars which will increase the overall fuel efficiency for hundreds of people in each city.
