Car2Go

Although a subway/light rail network is basically non-existent in Seattle, the bus service is pretty good, and we can walk or bike to most places we need to go. But there are times when we both could benefit from a car. After selling my deteriorating money-pit of a vehicle, I thought it would be interesting to try out Car2Go as a supplement to our transportation needs.

It’s a car-sharing service, part of a growing collaborative consumption movement, reshaping the attitude of how consumers own and use things: Where people share things that they use on occasion, as opposed to owning them outright. Paying for access to a product, not ownership of the product.

Car2Go is also a growing part of city transportation, made possible by the internet and cheap modern technology: key-card access, on-board GPS, online integration, and a Smartphone app. It is currently in a bunch of cities.

The Smart Cars feel a bit like driving a clown car. They apparently have the same accelerators as bumper-cars: the first 45 degrees of the pedal is non-responsive, and the next 5 degrees is 0 to 60! But you can park in the smallest of spaces. And since they have a deal with Seattle, all parking is FREE!

The perks are the simplicity.  You just find one, hop in, and go! Then ditch it.

Free: Gas, Parking, Insurance, maintenance, cleaning, etc, including all those hidden-costs of car-ownership. “Free” meaning they are already included, so you never have to worry about it.

One-way trips! It’s like having a fleet of disposable one-time-use cars. Just bus-it home! No more retrieving your car.

The downsides are freedom. Of course having the freedom to go wherever, whenever, on a whim is the very reason people own cars. Car2Go is not ideal for some trips, but it’s not a bad alternative for most trips. There is an "in-bounds", and a few rules.

Seattle's current boundaries.

The cost is 41 cents a minute (capped at $15 an hour), which seems steep, but when actually add up the full cost of owning and operating a car, it is apparently cheaper! [AAA report: “How much are you really paying to drive?”]. And of course we don't use it that often, so its working out pretty good so far.

Finalizing the trip on our 1st Car2Go.

Here is a TED Talk on Collaborative Consumption for more information on the idea. (it’s a little dated, but it conveys the idea).

oh, and a  bike-share is coming to Seattle in 2014!