THE popular ride share program car2go is receiving positive feedback following its expansion into the City of North Vancouver.
Jeremy Dyson, a North Vancouver resident, has been using car2go for a couple of years and is enjoying having them on the North Shore. He said the small cars are a novelty to drive and come in handy for his freelance photography work.
"It's a real coup for North Van to pull this off as the first outer region to pick up car2go," said Dyson. "I have friends in Burnaby who are certainly jealous."
The company added 50 cars to their already large fleet, with Vancouver currently boasting approximately 400 cars and around 15,000 members.
Katie Stafford, communications manager of car2go North America, said there was interest expressed in the program from both the city and commuters, prompting the company to expand onto the North Shore about six months ago.
"We had a lot of demand from people of North Vancouver and also people from the City of Vancouver who travel back and forth and in between," said Stafford. "We thought it would be a great opportunity for us to expand our services beyond just the central core of Vancouver."
The cars are operated through a membership program in which people receive a card that acts as an access key to each car.
"It actually gives you access to all 400 cars in Vancouver as well as all of the cars within Canada," including Calgary and Toronto, said Stafford.
There is no membership fee.Instead users pay 38 cents per minute on a plan similar to a pay-as-yougo. Fees are charged through the membership card from the time customers get into the car until they reach their destination. There is no charge for gas or parking.
Car2go cars can be found either on the street, or through the finder on the company's website.
"The most popular way that people find cars is through the smart phone app," said Stafford. Both the website and the app will not only show where the closest car is located, but allow a person to reserve the car in advance, setting the car in lockdown for 30 minutes.
The point of the service is to keep the cars moving so that you reduce the number of cars that are parked on the street, said Stafford. She said it also encourages people to use the cars specifically for quick trips.
For Dyson, the service came in particularly useful when he went to the recent jazz festival.
"We took it down and took it back, didn't have to worry about parking or anything," he said, explaining the festival had a drop zone for the cars.
The company site also shows car cleanliness, possible damage and fuel levels.
Members unlock the cars by swiping their card across the windshield reader. Once inside, a touch screen prompts the user for their four-digit pin, unlocking the key to the ignition.
