Although the ever-tightening credit market is preventing many shoppers from being able to finance their own vehicle, a new program is making it much easier to get behind the wheel of a car. Daimler announced on Monday that it will be expanding its ‘car2go project’ – a program that is intended to reduce traffic and make driving a car much more affordable.
Daimler kicked of its car2go project on October 24th in Ulm, Germany, and has seen such success that it has decided to expand the program.
The car2go project is essentially a car sharing program, and lets citizens of Ulm use Smart cars provided by Daimler for just $0.19 per minute – regardless of distance traveled or fuel consumed, according to Automotive News. To participate in the program, Ulm residents just need to complete a registration process, which includes the placing of a chip in the participants’ driver’s license.
Once registered, participants can use the Smart cars at a moment’s notice or book a vehicle up to 24 hours in advanced. And there aren’t any rental car check-in lines with the car2go project – vehicles are simply parked throughout the city, wherever the last driver decided to park the car. Cars are tracked through a GPS system, with systems setup online and through an automated telephone line to help you track down the nearest vehicle.
For longer trips, Daimler also offers hourly and daily rates, but no matter the price scale, customers can pay with a pre-register credit card or through a monthly bill.
The recent expansion saw the number of cars grow from 50 to 200, with electric cars scheduled to join the fleet if its success can be maintained. No word if Daimler plans to enact the car2go project on a wide scale, but it sounds like a great idea for big cities.
