Tag Archives: Car2Go

Back in March, GM noted that the new Car2Go car-sharing service had the potential to be a great option for Georgetowners. Now it’s getting even better.

For those new to the system, it works this way: There are (now) 200 blue-and-white Smart Cars scattered around DC. With a membership you can hop in one and drive it to where you’re going. Once you get to your destination, don’t worry about returning the car to where you picked it up; it’s a one-way rental. Plus, you don’t have to worry about parking tickets; the company has taken care of that.

But even though you don’t have to feed a meter or worry about moving the car after two hours, you still need to find a legal space. This can sometimes be a problem when you’re driving to a nightlife hotspot. Car2Go is now going to make that a little easier. Continue reading →

There’s a new car sharing company in DC, and it may be well-suited for Georgetowners. The company is Car2Go. Once you’re a member, you can grab any of their cars and use them, paying depending on how long you use the car. It’s 38 cents a minute, but the first hour tops out at $13.99, so once you have it for about 40 minutes, the next 20 minutes are basically free. It gets cheaper per minute the longer you keep it.

The unique thing about Car2Go is that there are no “stations” for the cars. They are left wherever the last driver left it. Which means you can pick up the car, drive to where you want to go, and just leave the car wherever (you don’t even need to worry about parking meters or 2 hour limits).

This leads to some degree of uncertainty since the availability of cars depends on other users having driven a car to a location convenient to you. The good news for Georgetowners is that Georgetown is likely to be a place that a lot of Car2Go users will end up driving to. So there should be a decent availability of cars in the neighborhood. While writing this, GM checked the real-time availability map on the company’s website, and there were seven cars available in Georgetown:

Perhaps the best way to think of this service is as a replacement for a cab. If you’re going across town for an evening out, this service is perfect. You just grab a car, drive it to H St. or wherever you’re going and just leave the car there. You can take a cab back home, you don’t need to return the car. Since the charges are only 38 cents a minute, you can get across town for under 8 bucks (without owing any tip). Continue reading →