Car2Go Coming to Calgary Edit- closing as of October 31

[Bigtime]

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...-door-vehicles

[Ozy_Flame]

Car2Go has been very successful in Calgary, second only to Vancouver in ridership numbers in North America. I suspect this pilot will go a long way in expanding their customer base with a more appealing four-door car.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

I wonder how many of those cars are being put in the field.

I think it's frankly absurd that they're not charging higher rates for them... I'd absolutely think it was fair if they cost, say, 30% more than the fourtwo ones.

[ken0042]

I also see they are allowing to be charged by the minute. If it was charged by the hour, it would save them for use by people who need the extra space. As it stands now, there is no incentive for somebody to walk an extra block to get one of the smaller cars. In fact, a significant number of times I have used a Car2go was an urgent need, so why would I walk that extra block if I am in a hurry and one of these cars is closer?

[TSXCman]

I came into work earlier than normal today and noticed like 50+ available in Mission and around 17th. Typically I am looking for 7:40-8:10 and they will pop up and get booked very quickly.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

I had no idea that Car2Go was owned by Daimler North America. That is brilliant marketing/sales for smart cars (assuming Car2Go makes money).

[Ozy_Flame]

People I know were asking why Car2Go was using Mercedes for their new fleet. That's definitely their answer.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

I wonder how many of those cars are being put in the field.

I think it's frankly absurd that they're not charging higher rates for them... I'd absolutely think it was fair if they cost, say, 30% more than the fourtwo ones.

I'm curious to know what the City thinks - part of the premise was that Smart cars take up less space and thereby "create" parking spots.

Maybe this is an introductory thing - C2G has been pretty good at jacking rates after the fact.... Charging the same rate for these means they'll be just as inconveniently located and hard to book as any other C2G car...

[Ozy_Flame]

I don't think it's a bad strategy. There's enough demand for cars in general, and so more to the fleet just addresses that demand, while also providing options for people to drive these things outside of the Core (Costco, groceries, etc.) on the weekend.

Creating a two-tiered system is something they may not need to do. Yet. And frankly a two-tiered system may create more stress on the system as it is.

[calf]

I wonder why the taxi drivers aren't as vocal against C2G as they are about Uber. Seems that C2G also takes a good chunk of business away from them.

[ken0042]

Can anybody tell from the website which are the newer cars? A quick look only shows the icon for the smaller cars, and I clicked on about 20 and they all show as being "C-Smart."

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by calf

I wonder why the taxi drivers aren't as vocal against C2G as they are about Uber. Seems that C2G also takes a good chunk of business away from them.

I wonder this as well..

My guess is it's not as easy to find someone to get angry with. Uber drivers are an easy target in that debate.

Not that it's much of a debate.

[accord1999]

Originally Posted by calf

I wonder why the taxi drivers aren't as vocal against C2G as they are about Uber. Seems that C2G also takes a good chunk of business away from them.

Uber is a driving for hire service like taxis/limos; there are regulations that taxis must follow that Uber does not.

[Ozy_Flame]

I have no idea why taxi drivers aren't fighting driveless automobiles right now. The minute that becomes a widely-used feature, then Car2Go becomes a way bigger threat. Right now they don't see it as a threat because it's simply not a taxi service; it will be once you can hope into a Car2Go and use it as a taxi.

I'll tell you though, the person who can come up with the technology to detect vomit and human expenditures in a driver-less car, and have it lock down and drive straight to the maintenance garage for cleaning will be a millionaire.

[accord1999]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

I have no idea why taxi drivers aren't fighting driveless automobiles right now.

Self driving vehicles will affect millions of high-paying transportation jobs in addition to taxi drivers.

[Weitz]

I think Taxi's don't like the short fares that car2go's usually service.

I know when I get a taxi to go like 10-20 blocks downtown the drivers seems upset.

[getbak]

I just got the email about the new cars. You can only book them using the App. No card needed (or usable at all).

In the app, there's now a selector to choose the 4-door cars. All the Smart cars get dimmed out and only the 4-doors show up.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by accord1999

Self driving vehicles will affect millions of high-paying transportation jobs in addition to taxi drivers.

The technology is not very feasible at this point.

[Jimmy Stang]

It seems that the $0.41/minute rate comes with the disclaimer "for the duration of the pilot project", so I wouldn't be shocked if they eventually have a premium rate and/or an hourly commitment as suggested earlier.

[Zarley]

Originally Posted by Weitz

I think Taxi's don't like the short fares that car2go's usually service.

I know when I get a taxi to go like 10-20 blocks downtown the drivers seems upset.

I've noticed this as well and don't understand why they would be upset.

Given the fixed base fee, short trips would be most profitable on a per km basis, and ending the trip downtown leaves the cabbie in a high density area where it is presumably easier to find the next fare.