I currently now have FIVE different methods of getting around:
1.) Walking
2.) Riding my bike
3.) Riding my scooter
4.) Driving my car
…and now the newest addition to my fleet of transportation…
5.) Snagging a Car2Go!
But wait…I get to drive around this sexy beast, but I didn’t BUY it.
Car2Go’s are an experimental transportation system that are available in 3 places:
- Ulm, Germany
- Hamburg, Germany
- -and-
- Austin, TX. USA (yet another benefit of living here)!
Basically it’s 400 Smart Cars scattered randomly through the city. If I see one, I can freely hop in, drive away, then leave it wherever I want! EVERYTHING is included in the price….gas, insurance, parking etc. All you need is a little member ship credit card thingy to access all the cars.
It’s like using a car only when you need it….but without having to return it to a rental place. The cars are tiny, and you can park them pretty much anywhere, even nose-first style. I’m nearly as big as the whole car!
I can easily wrap my arms around the width of the Smart car:
This is how I parked one night…no parallel parking needed!
Big pimpin’ in one of the Car2Go’s laying around on the street before a quick spin:
Now it’s cool to just stumble around and find one of these, but if you need help, there’s a free Car2Go iPhone app that locates every available Car2Go around you. It will even tell you fuel levels, how clean it is or if it has any damage. There’s roughly 400 of them humming around the city:
The test drive was fun, and I know several friends who’ve essentially stopped using their cars because they use these so often. What a useful concept!