Smart car2go in Texas

Texas, nicknamed the "Lone Star State" could be called the "Smart Star State." Daimler and smart, GmbH’s car2go car sharing pilot program will kick off in Austin, Texas next month. The car2go project will have a well-defined group of customers, Austin city employees. After a 6 month preliminary period, the Smart’s could be available to the general public and optimistically the car2go project will shift to additional metropolitan areas. The city of Austin will have a lease agreement for the smarts with car2go, a division of Daimler, AG. This innovative car sharing proposal will ease congestion, reduce co2 emissions and be a ground-breaking transportation alternative for the city of Austin and smart USA.



The contract will go before the Austin city council the first week of April and when approved, the arrangement will mark car2go's admittance into the U.S. car-share market. The car2go project was started by Daimler AG in Ulm, Germany last year.

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Car sharing is very attractive to folks who only occasionally use a vehicle and America is the prominent sector in the world for car sharing.

Zipcar, I-GO Car Sharing and even Austin CarShare are companies that have been on the cutting edge of the car sharing industry. The Austin, Texas car share program will be the largest of its kind in the nation, with plans to launch 200-Smart Fortwo’s.

Will Wynn, the mayor of Austin said, "We very much look forward to becoming the first international partner of car2go." We must agree with the good mayor. Smart_longhorn_Austin

We agree with the good mayor and too look forward to the launch of the car2go project and the launch of ED version of the Smart Fortwo, as do many Smart and electric car enthusiasts.

During this pilot phase (six-month) Austin would permit on-street and off-street parking spots for the car2go smart cars and car2go would offer driving time for city workers.



Source: media.daimler.com Stuttgart / Ulm – Good reasons for rediscovering city driving can now be found literally on every corner in Ulm.

Daimler AG sees to it with car2go – its new mobility concept that makes driving a car as easy as using a mobile phone. Following the successful completion of the internal pilot phase, car2go with a fleet of 200 smart fortwo cdi is available from now on to all registered residents and visitors to Ulm – every day, around the clock, and at low rates. From Ulm, car2go goes straight to the international level, to the USA: Daimler plans to launch car2go in Austin, Texas, this autumn.car2go_in_Austin_Capitol

"The very promising results of the first, internal pilot phase in Ulm show that with car2go we have found another answer to current and future mobility needs in metropolitan areas. Our project in Austin is the next logical step," says Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development.
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With car2go, on 24 October 2008 in Ulm Daimler AG kicked off a pilot project for a new, flexible and environmentally compatible form of mobility concept of the city. car2go is another important element of the Daimler strategy on the road to sustainable mobility.

The principle is as simple as can be: whenever a car is needed, it can be rented spontaneously in passing out on the street, or it can be pre-booked via mobile phone or internet. The car then can be used as long as one likes, and can be returned to any unoccupied public parking space within the area of operation.

The cost structure is clear and the use is simple: the 19 euro cents charged per minute covers taxes, insurance, mileage and even fuel. There are low rates for rental by the hour or day: 9.90 euros per hour or 49 euros per day.

Sole condition for use is one-time free registration as a customer and a valid driver's license, to which a small seal is affixed. Once a person registers, he or she can open any car2go by means of a card reader placed behind the windshield.

From inside to outside
In the first pilot phase that began last October with 50 smart fortwo, some 500 employees of the Daimler Research Center in Ulm, plus 200 family members, participated as test drivers.

The aim was to test the technical systems and gather initial experience with acceptance, user behavior, and effort for service in practical operation.