car2go revolutionized car sharing in Vancouver when it launched in June 2011, offering more transportation options for city dwellers without their own vehicles. The company was part of Daimler AG — better known as the company behind Mercedes-Benz.
As of November 12, 2019, Car2Go is now known as SHARE NOW. The changes comes as part of a new joint venture between BMW Group and Daimler.
With a new name comes a new app, and several important changes to how the car sharing service in Metro Vancouver works.
- Trips will no longer end automatically. Users will need to end their trip in the app, and soon you’ll only need a Bluetooth enabled device and PIN number to start your trip; the windshield units will soon be removed.
- New vehicle types on the way. In addition to the existing Mercedes CLAs and Smart cars, models from BMW (X1) and Mini (Clubman) will join the fleet.
- No need to re-register. For existing users of the car2go app, the app will be updated to the SHARE NOW service and branding as of November 12, 2019
SHARE NOW has a fleet of over 20,000 BMW, Mercedes-Benz, smart, and MINI vehicles in 30 cities across North America and Europe, with over four million members.
The company has a similar business model across all of its markets. It charges a per-minute rate, with discounts for hourly and daily use. It includes insurance, gas, parking (in authorized areas — in Vancouver, this includes two-hour parking spaces, public street parking, permit parking and designated stalls) and maintenance.
Users can even drive the car across the border into Washington State (maximum 300km from Vancouver), but must return to end the trip in Vancouver.
