29 October 2008 – Smart fortwo in car sharing scheme pilot
Smart car manufacturer Daimler has begun to test a car sharing initiative that if successful could help ease traffic pressure in towns and cities and provide cheap motoring for urban drivers.
The car2go traffic-reducing pilot got underway with 50 smart fortwo cars in the German city of Ulm last Friday. The scheme allows people to have the use of a smart fortwo car for however long or short a period of time that they require it and be charged by the minute for using it.
The basic rate for use of a smart fortwo car is 19 euros cents a minute (or the equivalent of around 15p). The hourly rate is capped at 9.90 euros (around £8.00) and the daily rate is 49.90 euros (around £51). With fuel and insurance included in the price that’s cheap, cheap motoring by any standards.
The pilot kicked off with Daimler employees taking part in the scheme, but residents of the city will be able to sign-up to car2go from the New Year.
There is no membership fee to pay but residents of Ulm will have to register to take part in the scheme before they can use one of the smart fortwo cars. The idea is that people will be able to take a smart car whenever they want one, using a microchip card that is issued to them when they sign up to the scheme. Once a person has finished with the car they can simply park it up anywhere within the designated city boundary, where it then becomes available for someone else to use it. It will also be possible to pre-book a smart car under the scheme.
Car-sharing schemes are not new. They have been run with varying success in many countries. The disadvantages of many other schemes has been the fact that you were required to pre-book a car for a fixed period of time, had to collect and return the car from a specific place and received a fine if you were late bringing the car back.
The advantages of the smart car2go scheme is that cars will be available all around the city to simply get in a drive away – for just a few minutes or for as long as you need it for – and you only pay for the time you have the car.
Rebecca Williams from smart car leasing and contract hire specialists City Vehicle Leasing commented: ‘With everyone feeling the financial squeeze innovative approaches to reducing motoring costs such as the car2go scheme are great news for car drivers.
‘For motorists who need daily use of a car, contract hire and car leasing schemes also provide extremely low cost way to run a smart or Mercedes-Benz car over more traditional finance arrangements.’
If the smart car2go pilot in Ulm is successful Daimler plans to operate car2go schemes in Europe and the US as early as 2009. Whilst details have not yet been released Daimler says it is in talks in Paris and several US cities and could start offering car2go to the public next year. Car sharing schemes are already well established in Seattle and New York.
Whilst the two-seater smart fortwo car makes it perfect for an urban car-sharing scheme, if the pilot is successful Daimler may introduce cars from the Mercedes-Benz model range once the scheme is established. The electric smart car would also be perfect for the car2go scheme.
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