A conversation with Seattle
What’s most disruptive about the technology of driverless cars might be the economics of scale they offer, making their use more of a mandate than any legal requirement. It seems rational to spend $30,000 on a car, until it doesn’t. Continue reading Op-Ed: Who Will Own the Driverless Car?
On March 18, 2013, the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to approve increasing the cap on car2go’s Seattle fleet, from 330 to 500 cars. The 500 leaves room to grow on — the fleet will likely add another 100 cars, to 430 total, as part of the concomitant expansion of car2go’s home area footprint to Southeast and West Seattle on April 1. Continue reading car2go Expands to Keep Up with Demand in Seattle
But perhaps Via6 lets you save money in other ways. Maybe not at the Tom Douglas restaurant, coffee shop, and urban market, but, suggests project manager Matt Rosauer, “If people want to try life without a car, this could be their spot.” Continue reading Downtown, a “Vertical Community” for a New Seattle Takes Shape
To get some perspective on the 18,000 new car2go members in Seattle — after just 90 days — take a look at how the company grew in its North American home base, Austin, Texas. Ten months after opening up membership to Austin residents (a previous pilot program was aimed only at city employees), the car sharing service had 15,000 members. Continue reading 90 Days In, Seattle’s car2go Membership is Blowing Up
Now there are company-run car-sharing services (Zipcar, who’ll give you $75 in driving credit if you sign up now; Car2Go, offering 30 minutes of drive time) and individual car-sharing services employing electronic thumbs: Sidecar matches drivers with passengers, who can tip if they want, as does Lyft (also coming to Seattle). RelayRides lets car owners rent their actual cars. Continue reading Car2Go, Shared Life, and the Productivity of Possessions
The total cost of my Car2Go trip ($11.13) was almost exactly the price of a one-hour usage of a Zipcar, even though I’d spent two hours at the party, and left whenever I felt like it. It’s also nice to return at a reasonable pace, rather than driving like a bat out of hell while cursing red lights. Continue reading As Car2Go’s Seattle Run Begins, Avis Buys Zipcar