Car2go doubles down on PDX: fleet grows 12%, home area jumps to N Lombard
Three months after its Portland launch, point-to-point carsharing service car2go has decided it’s time to keep growing.
Starting Tuesday, the blue-and-white two-seater cars that rent by the minute and don’t have a fixed home spot will be able to be left on public streets for free as far north as Lombard Street. The service will also add 30 new plug-in electric vehicles, a 12 percent boost to its 250-car gas-powered fleet at launch.
The expansion to Lombard, along with smaller expansions to NW 25th Avenue and the Gateway Transit Center parking lot, will bring car2go’s new “home area” to 37 square miles, a 16 percent growth in the service area.
Car2go also announced that it’s signed up 6,000 members in its first 100 days since launch. That’s exactly as many as it reported in San Diego last year, and 30 percent less than it saw in Washington D.C. this spring … though DC’s home area is almost twice as large as Portland’s, with about twice the population.
Also this month, car2go announced that members can now enter cars with their car2go cards in any U.S. city that offers the service. Car2go’s CEO said last spring that this will clear the way for a major national expansion beyond the Daimler-owned firm’s current base of Austin, San Diego, Portland, D.C. and Miami. (US-based cards can’t be used yet in the closest car2go city, Vancouver BC.)
Car2go memberships cost a one-time fee of $35 and rent for 35 cents a minute, up to $13 per hour, including gas and insurance. Compared to local competitors Zipcar and Getaround, car2go is ideal for in-city errands that don’t involve major hauling or a return trip, or at which your car would be parked for at least half the time of the rental.
Post by michael at 10:43 am July 24th, 2012. Like what you see? Get future posts by email.
