car2go Vehicles Now Available in Vancouver

As we reported back in April, Daimler’s car sharing program - car2go - was to reach Canadian shores, with Vancouver, British Columbia, as the first city in the country to benefit fro this mobility service. The company has made available no less than 225 fuel-efficient, low-emission smart "car2go edition" vehicles as of June 18, for “on-demand” rentals.

For the last two moths, approximately 2,000 Vancouverites have registered and received their membership cards, members who are now able to drive the vehicles.

Following the overwhelmingly positive response, car2go has extended the free registration period (which represents a CAD35 value) until July 3rd.

As a sustainable transportation option, car2go is also playing a role in the City of Vancouver’s goal to become the “greenest city” in the world by 2020. Members can rent a car2go “on-demand” or reserve a vehicle up to 24 hours in advance. The car2go vehicles that are readily available to be driven can be viewed on the internet or with a smartphone app, and can be driven for as long as needed without committing to a return time.

The rental can simply be ended by leaving the vehicle at any “permit only” on-street parking spot in downtown or residential neighbourhoods within the defined business area, or in one of the specially marked car2go parking spaces.

Members pay for what they use by the minute with discounted rates for hourly and daily use and are only charged for the time they use the car2go. Rates include fuel, parking, mileage, insurance, maintenance and GPS navigation.

car2go now has a global network of more than 40,000 members and 1,000 smart vehicles. The program will further expand in other North American and European cities in 2011.