Watching Car2Go

Being in Seattle I've constantly complained about the driving of the local residents, ranging from their inability to use common sense or the expectation that drivers don't anticipate anything. Of course, anecdotes don't really mean anything since they don't pool any statistics or trends, and these observations cover a ridiculous range of driver mishaps. Common observations range from the inability to park without the car being angled towards the turn from which it was made to changing lanes at the latest possible moment to make a turn or merge off a highway instead of anticipating ahead of time, and more mind-boggling happenings involving right turns out of the left lane.

Something that really does mark the poor ability of Seattle drivers is their use of the rental service car2go. car2go is a rental fleet of Smart cars that don't require reservations and are charged by the minute. To rent one, you use a smartphone to locate a car and basically enter it to begin your trip; ending the trip by parking the car. However, the parking the car part seems to give a lot of people trouble. The guidelines are not that complicated.

In Seattle, you may park in any non-restricted curb side parking throughout the car2go Home Area as well as any Restricted Parking Zone location. You can park at all parking meter locations without having to feed the meter but may not end your trip in spaces limited to less than 1 hours. You are allowed to park and end trips in 1 hour or greater restricted parking zones. 

Non-restricted curb side parking areas are basically street parking areas where parking is allowed 24 hours a day. Most restrictions to restricted curb side areas generally prohibit parking during rush hour, so car2go vehicles cannot be parked in those locations. Restricted parking zone locations tend to require a sticker on your car allowing you to park in that particular zone during specific times (for example in residential neighborhoods near the university during home football games). Given these restrictions it's not too difficult to park a car2go vehicle at the end of a trip.

Naturally, given all things Seattle and its anti-establishment mindset, parking rules are for suckers. My office sits right next to a tow lot, and most days about four or five of these vehicles will be sitting in the tow lot. We tend to get a good laugh every time another vehicle is brought in, as the last driver will be charged by car2go for the towing fees, which are significantly higher than the $.41/min rate that could have been spent to find a proper parking spot.

In somewhat related news, BMW will be bringing ReachNow to Seattle, a competing service that plans to utilize BMWs and Minis. It plans to charge more ($.49/min) compared to car2go ($.41/min), so now you'll know who's more willing to spend an extra 8 cents per minute to look suave.