San Diego car-share program sees a steady stream of interest
By Johnny McDonald | Downtown News
San Diego’s commitment to become a leader in sustainability and clean technology made it a natural choice for the car2go car-share program. The program currently features over 172 Smart EC cars—two-seat, all electric-powered vehicles— scattered throughout downtown.
In San Diego, California’s first market for the car-share program run by Germany’s Daimler Corporation, members can find little blue and white cars waiting for them around the clock. The program’s operational cost is 35 cents per minute, without exceeding $12.99 an hour or $65.99 for daily use. The membership fee is $35.
Katie Stafford, communications manager for car2go North America, said the reception in San Diego has been outstanding. So much so, she said, that 100 more Smart EC cars will soon be added to the fleet.
“There has been a steady stream of interest,” Stafford said. “We haven’t announced our membership totals yet. That probably won’t happen until mid-March, when we have reached 100 days of operations [but] we’ve had great response from people since our initial test drive.” The car-share program was launched in San Diego in November 2011.
Nicolas Cole, president and CEO of car2go North America, said in a press release, “Our goal is to complement the existing transportation infrastructure by providing an emission-free car-sharing service for short and spontaneous one-way trips.”
In addition to appearing on nearly every street in downtown, as well as having a designated office space at 633 Ninth Ave., Stafford said members have other options for accessing their accounts and reserving vehicles.
“Using Smart phone apps, you can find out what cars are available,”she said. “Click on one of the car2go icons for the exact location of the car and [to see] if it has an 80 percent or 100 percent charge.”
The company’s initial test run began in Ulm, Germany in 2008 and the car-share program has expanded operations to 12 other cities in North America and Europe. The introduction of car2go in San Diego comes after the recent installation of 1,500 charging stations for electrical vehicles throughout San Diego County.
Mayor Jerry Sanders said in a press release for the company’s launch, “Car2go’s investment here is another major step toward making San Diego the Nation’s electric-vehicle capital.”
According to company documents, the 30-kilowatt lithium battery can go up to 84 miles before a recharge is necessary. The company further says it is best to keep the battery at a 20 to 80 percent charge to assure only three hours for recharging.
“Daimler has a portfolio of five different electric vehicles [with] Smart EC being one of them,” Stafford said. The Smart EC vehicles can be found within San Diego’s 30-square mile service area that stretches west from Interstate 15 to Mission Bay, and north from Imperial Avenue to Mission Valley.
Members can pick up cars anywhere within this area, use them as long as they wish, and then leave them in almost any public parking spot within the service area. They can be driven outside the service area, however they must be left within it for other members to use.
