Car2go marks 100 days in Vancouver with 5,000 members and 40,000 rentals

Car2go Canada, a subsidiary of Daimler North America, announced successful operations for its first 100 days in Vancouver.

Since the launch of car2go in Vancouver on June 18, its branded smart fortwo vehicles have been rented more than 40,000 times and membership has grown to more than 5,000.

“The residents of Vancouver have high awareness of environmental issues and openness to using alternative modes of transportation, making Vancouver an excellent market for the first Canadian car2go city,” said Nicholas Cole, president and CEO of car2go Canada Ltd. “It is our goal to help the city and its residents make Vancouver a more sustainable city. We thank Vancouver residents for welcoming car2go into their community and daily lives.”

Members locate available cars on the street via a web or mobile app, enabling spontaneous rentals.

Car2go members can easily locate an available car2go on the street within the operating area via the Internet or smartphone application, or by contacting the car2go customer call center. Unlike traditional carsharing, members can begin their trip spontaneously or reserve a vehicle up to 24 hours in advance without committing to a specific return time or location.

The company launched in Vancouver in June with more than 1,000 rentals per week and now the average number of car2go rentals per week has increased to more than 4,000, with an average rental time between 30 and 50 minutes and an average distance driven between 8 and 10 kilometres.

“We are building a greener transportation network in Vancouver, and in conjunction with transit, cycling and walking, carsharing is an important tool in our work to become the greenest city in the world by 2020,” said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. “It’s great that car2go chose Vancouver to make its Canadian debut, and I expect we’ll see interest and use of car2go and all forms of carsharing continue to expand in the years to come.”