Car2Go Coming to Hawaii?

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG0c8NmxDOU]

It looks like Car2Go has set its sights on Hawaii with this preview video posted by Bytemark’s Cafe radio host Burt Lum. Car2Go works on a concept of car sharing where you simply rent a small Smart Car for a period of time, drive it to one location, leave it there, and someone else who is a member of the Car2Go service can rent and drive it to another location.

The service is a product of Daimler AG, a multi-national automotive corporation based in Germany and is noted for the manufacture and sales of the Mercedes-Benz brand of automobiles. They also produce the Smart car.

Car2Go is already established in several European and North American cities.

From the Car2Go Austin TX website, here’s how it works:

Car2Go is always putting you in a good mood and the same goes for our pricing. Our calculations are fair and always in your favor. For starters, you only pay when you use it. No monthly fees or rental subscription packages. No reservations required. And our one-way model means there is no need to waste the time you’re paying for by returning the car to the same location that you began your trip.

car2go is always on the go. But our prices stay consistent: You simply pay $.41 per minute plus tax. And all without running fixed costs or deposits, parking charges, fuel costs, or recurring annual fees.

Starting June 1, 2015 there will be an additional $1 (plus tax) driver protection fee added to the first 90 car2go trips completed per calendar year to reduce the deductible to $250. After 90 car2go trips are completed the driver protection fee is waived for the remainder of the calendar year and the deductible is reduced to $0.

I think Car2Go will be a success in Honolulu and other urbanized areas in Hawaii. I see it being particularly successful perhaps in some resort areas such as Kapalua-Kaanapali-Lahaina where tourists could use the car for a short jaunt between their hotel and the beach.

In Honolulu it could be a good commuter concept for workers who don’t want to pay for expensive parking in the downtown area.

There are many possibilities.

So far the only thing that may be holding Car2Go back is approval by the City & County of Honolulu.

The only minor complaint I have about Car2Go is that I wish its name was spelled as “Car2Go” as used in this blog post instead of “car2go” in all lower case letters.

Link: KHON Car To Go Ready for Honolulu Launch