Thanks to German company Car2Go, Austin Texas should be seeing SmartCars in a new light. The car-sharing service could be expanding the year-old pilot program to all city and state officials in Austin. Car2Go is a service in the car-sharing business that charges users by the minute for use of the SmartCars, which is a model that is becoming more and more popular in larger cities.
How it works with Car2Go
A car sharing system that places a large number of cars in an urban area is called Car2Go. Those who are “members” of Car2Go can use a intelligent card to rent cars by the minute. Car2Go cars could be picked up or dropped off within the Car2Go area. At about 35 cents per minute of rental, the Car2Go system bridges the gap for urban residents that don’t have a vehicle, but occasionally have need of one.
ZipCar vs. Car2Go
ZipCar is an American company, founded in 2000, that at the moment operates in 49 U.S. cities as well as Vancouver, Toronto and London. After acquiring Flexcar in 2007, ZipCar represents about 50 percent of car-sharing around the world. Much like Car2Go, ZipCar relies on “members” that use a membership card to unlock and rent ZipCars. ZipCar also has partnerships with numerous U.S. companies and universities that help students and commuters time-share their automobiles.
The Benefits of sharing cars
Car2Go and ZipCar represent just two of the growing number of car-sharing services in the United States and around the world. Numerous cities within the US, such as Buffalo, San Francisco, Boulder, New York City, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Minneapolis-Saint Paul have all began a car sharing network. The vehicle sharing system is more environmentally friendly, reduce congestion, and increase flexibility. Also, large fleets of cars like ZipCar and Car2Go tend to use hybrid and electric cars, which will increase the overall fuel efficiency for hundreds of drivers in each city.
