Sunday, May 6, 2012

Look out Zipcar - New Carsharing Competition Comes to DC

You've probably seen them already.  The little blue Smart cars owned by car2go (http://www.car2go.com/) zipping around DC streets.  They are the latest entry into the carsharing market in DC.  As this great article on the Discovery website explains: http://tinyurl.com/6mxyrrj, car2go has some interesting features.  


The most novel is that you can pick it up and return it from anywhere in the District (with a few limits).  The cars use GPS to show their current location and you can find them where the last person left them.  


Another benefit is that you don't have to reserve it in advance.  If you see one on the street all you have to do is walk up to on swipe the card they give you.  They charge you 38 cents a minute up to an hourly rate of $14.  


Lastly, you can leave the car in any legal parking spot.  


We'll see if these options draws consumers away from the more established carsharing companies.  Anything that shakes up the transportation options in the region is cause for celebration though.   

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