The car as a status symbol? That’s long been a thing of the past. Car-sharing is the new order of the day, at least in urban areas. Based on the free-floating principle like car2go, car-sharing can work flexibly and on the spur of the moment: the car doesn’t have to be collected from and returned to fixed stations; it can be rented and parked anywhere within the home area. And that’s just one of the ten reasons for free-floating car-sharing below.
Reason 1: On average, a car spends most of its time sitting in private or public parking spaces, while its owner is at work, sleeping or doing other activities. Therefore, it makes more sense to only use a car when you need it.
Reason 2: This means you save on the fixed monthly costs for insurance, gas, parking fees, tax and maintenance. These are included in the per-minute cost of renting free-floating car2go vehicles.
Reason 3: Free-floating car-sharing allows you to be just as spontaneous as you could be if you had your own car outside your front door. car2go isn’t a replacement for public transport, but instead a complementary product that makes users more independent from timetables.
Reason 4: Free-floating car-sharing means freedom when choosing a suitable car: a compact two-seater for a quick shopping trip or a spacious five-seater for a journey with the whole family.
Reason 5: Users of free-floating car-sharing are doing something good for the environment and surroundings. Surveys show that car2go redistributes traffic, where otherwise private cars would be used, and therefore eases the burden on cities in two respects: parking spaces and carbon emissions. In the purely electric fleets and when certified green electricity is used, car2go vehicles produce almost no carbon emissions.
Reason 6: A car from the free-floating fleet is the perfect replacement for a second car: the car-sharing vehicle offers family members who only need a car every now and then the chance to be more independent and increase their own mobility. With no advance arrangements or blocking of dates in the family calendar necessary.
Reason 7: Parking stress is minimized by free-floating car-sharing, as users have a free choice of parking spaces. They can park the car they’ve rented at short notice in any public parking space in the business region. Depending on the city, there are even some additional, designated parking spaces available, or permits to use residents’ car parks.
Reason 8: Having your own car is often handy, but can also become a burden. In free-floating car-sharing, the driver is only responsible for the car during the journey; they aren’t tied down to a car of their own.
Reason 9: Of course, we could give up driving altogether, but for some occasions we prefer to have the privacy while driving that car2go offers, unlike public transport or taxis.
Reason 10: Free-floating car-sharing is synonymous with modern mobility. In urban environments above all, networked mobility concepts – including changing from one means of transport to another – are the future. For example: Travel first by train, then drive to a bar in a car2go, but then take a taxi back home.