Car2Go.com

Brodiej

<p>Has anyone noticed the explosion of these Car2go Smart cars in our area? I've come across designated "car club" spaces before but not just a load of cars with parking permits to be in the area. On a wander round the block this evening i counted 7.</p><p>I think its a helpful service to those without a car who need a flexible transport option, but given the restrictions placed on residents for the number of permanent permits they are allowed, and how much they have to pay for the privilege i'm interested to see how they got them all. The council is meant to be encouraging us all to use public transport, yet they must have ok'd the additional vehicles. If you also follow the "green" argument that is presented by the council for the steep permit fees, then how is allowing an additional 7 polluting vehicles a green initiative?</p><p>Can anyone shed any light? </p>

andy

<font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2">http://www.suttonguardian.co.uk/news/10098831.Not_so_smart_cars_ticketed_after_flooding_residents__parking_spaces/</font>;

ADGS

Bloody Hell. And even by local newspaper standards, that is an astonishingly illiterate article. 

Roy

I'm thinking of signing up with Car 2 Go.  Currently they have an arrangement with Islington to allow free use of Pay and Display bays and also residents bays.  Looks like Sutton still allows use of Pay and Display bays but no longer of residents bays.  (And Newham, the only other borough where the cars are active, allows neither).<br><br>The neat thing about Car 2 Go versus car clubs is that you can leave them anywhere within the three boroughs (unlike car clubs where you have to take the car back to its designated parking space).   It's more built around a model of taking cars when you need them, rather than booking in advance, and it's billed by the minute rather than the half-hour.  Downside is it's more expensive on paper than Zipcar or City Car Club, although that's slightly balanced by the per-minute billing and the lack of a need to add contingency into your booking to ensure you bring the car back on time.  Also, you can't take the cars outside London.<br><br>It's an interesting idea - I wish them every success with this, and look forward to seeing them sign up more London boroughs - obviously if you could leave the car anywhere in London this service would be way more useful.<br><br>roy<br>

Doug

<EM>how is allowing an additional 7 polluting vehicles a green initiative?</EM> <P><EM>Can anyone shed any light? </EM></P> <P>If they replaced cars owned by residents perhaps? Suppose your neighbour owns a car which he/she keeps on the street, but in light of the car2go scheme decides to get rid of their car and use that service occasionally instead.</P> <P>That might be bit green, no?</P>

Brodiej

This is the theory of the council and car2go Doug. I don't buy the statistics that are quoted (8 cars off the street for ever car2go), but of course they might be true. I think my issue is that I am sick of being manipulated and pushed down a route that I don't want to take, and being pushed via various levels of spin concerning green initiatives. I'm being pushed to have a greener car because they've decided I pollute the borough too much. I pay huge fees to allow people to visit me via parking permits, and I also run the gauntlet from their army of enforcers and smart cars. I'm not being funny, but it just doesn't feel like I'm a resident in their community! I find most of their policies hypocritical. There's a place for car2go in the community, but I'm rather fed up of being the fall guy. There are people in this borough who need their car, use it for work, yet are made to feel as though they own a luxury item because there is public transport. I did 18,000 miles last year, of which maybe 100 were in London overall. I wouldnt expect any non-car owner to share this opinion, as car2go is something new and helpful to them. Car owners might see how the councils policy on this kind of goes against everything they're told every year when the costs go up at renewal time. Let's see how many cars come off N4 streets. I'm not holding my breath

Richard

<div><br></div><div>I've waivered over the years whether or not to buy myself a cheap second hand car. I haven't, due to the introduction of Streetcar/Zipcar. Without it I'm sure I would have bought a car by now, and I'm sure I'd use it much more than I currently use zipcar. Also, if I had a car it'd be quite old with poor emissions rating compared to the modern fleet of zipcars. So I expect initiatives like these reduce car ownership to some degree and reduce car run time overall. </div><div><br></div><div>I wouldn't be surprised if the number of cars absent from the road due to these car clubs offset the permits given to the carclub/car2go cars. So I'm not sure it results in car owners being unfairly penalised. Anyway, its not like public transport doesn't cost an arm and leg - I think we're all being hit one way or the other!</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

Papa

This is better that ZipCar in that you can simply drop it off anywhere you are allowed to when you aren't using it, like a Boris Bike. Zipcars are great but you have to return them to where you got them from.<br><br>Car2Go falls down on the fact that you need to only be going to one of three London boroughs to do that though. Done nationwide or extended to the M25 commuter belt it would be great - proper nudge people away from owning cars who don't need them territory.<br><br>@BrodieJ is 100% right though. This greenwash the council puts up is mainly a revenue raiser - the parking charges are obscenely unenvironmentally friendly and regressive - they reward buying new cars (which have better emmissions) ignoring the fact that making a car is a heavy environmental cost and not everyone can afford a new 3 Series BMW.<br><br>It's like taxing British air passengers heavily because flying isn't green at the same time as trying to expand hub airports for people who won't even properly enter Britain. <br><br>Car2Go is an arm of Mercedes by the way.<br>