Car2Go Demonstration Study Extended for Up To a Year

In a related action, the County Board authorized an extension of a point-to-point car-sharing demonstration study with car2go for up to an additional 12 months.

The initial year-long demonstration study, which examined a form of “free-floating” car-share, ended on Dec. 1, 2016. Based on the program’s membership growth, the company’s responsiveness to community feedback, user surveys, and the positive reception of cross-jurisdictional service with the District of Columbia, County staff recommended continuing the service with some modifications. The 12-month extension will allow staff to continue to learn from car2go’s performance data and community feedback while developing a competitive procurement for this service, consistent with the County’s new ordinance.

Community benefits at no cost to the County

Car-sharing is already part of the County’s Master Transportation Plan and supports its goals of complementing and extending the reach of transit and other travel options such as biking and walking, alleviating parking and traffic congestion, reducing greenhouse gases and particulate emissions, reducing personal vehicle ownership and household transportation costs, and increasing travel convenience and accessibility.

Neither the ordinance nor the extension of the demonstration study will have a fiscal impact because fees paid by authorized car-share vendors for access to on-street space are intended to equal the County’s costs of administering the programs.