A new car-sharing company featuring a one-way service model, no time commitments and an optional reservation system is set to arrive in Vancouver in June.
Daimler North America Corp. has selected Vancouver for the location of its new Car2go Canada Ltd., and the Canadian launch point for the car-sharing program Daimler is already running in Austin, Texas, and Ulm and Hamburg, Germany.
Nicholas Cole, Car2go Canada president and CEO, said car sharing will be a “tremendous growth industry area” in North America.
Vancouverites, he added, are particularly open to the concept.
“It’s really a city that’s striving for a sustainable goal – to become the greenest city in the world – and I think they’re on track. And more importantly, I think, is the fact that the residents here embrace that.”
While Vancouver has been home to car-sharing services Modo the Car Co-op since 1997 and Zipcar, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZIP) since 2007, Cole said Vancouver has room for an additional service.
He emphasized that Car2go differentiates itself from other car-sharing services by enabling customers to take one-way trips.
“You’re not forced to book a reservation, and you don’t have to commit to a time to return the vehicle and you definitely don’t have to return it to the exact location that you picked up the rental at.”
The service, which exclusively features smart “car2go edition” vehicles, will be available within a 47-square-kilometre pickup and drop-off zone bordered by Burrard Inlet, Alma Street, 41st Avenue and Nanaimo Street.
Customers will be able to locate vehicles using Car2go smartphone applications, the company website or a telephone hotline. They can then drive the vehicle for as long as they like and leave it in any available permit-only on-street parking spot within the “geo fence” area.
Cole said the company calculates that designated area will enable 270,000 people to use the service, which will launch with 225 vehicles. After six to 12 months, he said, the company will consider adding vehicles and expanding the geo fence.
Car2go’s pricing model is based on a $0.35-per-minute charge, with cheaper $12.99 hourly and $65.99 daily rates for longer trips. Cole said Car2go use patterns in other cities indicate that customers tend to use the service for trips of between 30 minutes and just over one hour.
“We see multiple utilizations within short periods of time with our vehicles,” he said, noting that Austin’s fleet of 300 cars sees approximately 4,000 rentals a week.
Prior to entering the Vancouver market, Car2go conducted a trial assessment of its service with test users between June 2010 and March 2011 to “validate and refine” its business processes and technical systems prior to the program’s rollout.
As Car2go finalizes the groundwork for its entry into the city, including waiving a $35 registration fee for residents who sign up for the service before May 29, Vancouver car-sharing pioneer Modo, previously called the Co-Operative Auto Network, is closely watching Car2go’s entry into the Vancouver market.
Modo business development officer Tayla Paz said there’s not much data on how one-way car-sharing works, but she believes its one-way model will compete more with taxis and future bike sharing than with Modo’s car-sharing model. Like Zipcar, Modo’s model is based on reserving and committing to a time slot and returning a vehicle to where it was picked up.
But Paz also expressed concern over the endorsement the service has received from the City of Vancouver and Mayor Gregor Robertson.
“Vancouver politicians who talk about a local, sustainable economy should support local, sustainable businesses.”