Car2GO to launch in Calgary

[kw5150]

I think they just jumped in the car and went to banff and were fine with the daily rate and distance surcharge. At least they didnt have to pay for gas.

[RicoLance21]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

It's now $73 per day.

So a drive to Banff with 1 hr hanging out would be 3.5 hrs ~ $55 (max $14/hr) + ~$25 for the km overage, so $80.

It would max out at $98 if you stayed for a few hrs.

I paid over $70 for gas to and from Whistler. That's how high gas prices were in Vancouver. I was intending to rent a 5-seat compact, but none were available, and they gave me a free upgrade to an SUV which, you guessed it, uses more gas.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by suburbia

I never pay any extra fees. Like I said, my personal car insurance covers the rental, and there is no additional fees that are truly important. So yeah, $18.95 + 5% GST = <$20.

Weird, I just went to Budget's website, and a $19.95/day car adds on another $13+ in fees, nearly doubling the price. They certainly don't seem to be optional charges (I'm not talking GPS or car seats here).

I rent a car probably 12 times a year and I've never in my life seen a posted price where ONLY GST is added on. There is always some sort of additional fee(s) tacked on - facility fee, concession fee, you name it. They're like airlines in this respect.

Anyway, I'm not really sure I follow your point in de-constructing how YOU would go about driving to Banff. Obviously the people who did this don't have a car handy, and don't live next to a rental place that was open (which is 95% of the city at any given moment). And probably figured "hey, a fun day in Banff!" instead of fretting over a few extra bucks their convenience cost them. There's a lot of people with money to burn in this city, to be honest I'm surprised it took this long for someone to see something like this.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by kw5150

I think they just jumped in the car and went to banff and were fine with the daily rate and distance surcharge. At least they didnt have to pay for gas.

If you don't pay for gas with these things (I can never remember how this program works), that's even better. Back and forth to Banff in my car is $20-30 in gas these days, depending on which I take.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by RicoLance21

I paid over $70 for gas to and from Whistler. That's how high gas prices were in Vancouver. I was intending to rent a 5-seat compact, but none were available, and they gave me a free upgrade to an SUV which, you guessed it, uses more gas.

That's your problem. Your comparing SUV to shoe box.

Originally Posted by freeweed

If you don't pay for gas with these things (I can never remember how this program works), that's even better. Back and forth to Banff in my car is $20-30 in gas these days, depending on which I take.

You do end up paying for gas - that's why the per kilometer rate for longer distances is so darn high.

Originally Posted by freeweed

Weird, I just went to Budget's website, and a $19.95/day car adds on another $13+ in fees, nearly doubling the price. They certainly don't seem to be optional charges (I'm not talking GPS or car seats here).

I rent a car probably 12 times a year and I've never in my life seen a posted price where ONLY GST is added on. There is always some sort of additional fee(s) tacked on - facility fee, concession fee, you name it. They're like airlines in this respect.

They must really love you. I'm at the site again and ready to check out with the following:

$18.95/day
$1.04GST
$1.85Car tax
---
$21.84

Of course, once in a while you do find locals who are oblivious to the fact that if you're renting locally, you shouldn't pick up at the airport as there is are concession recovery and facility fees. That being said, the rate for airport pick-up right now is $14.95 and total comes out to $26.99. If you pick the downtown location it is $21.95 totaling $24.99.

Of course, I like to not only save money, but be in a better car, and have the convenience of sticking around in Banff more than an hour and not worrying. Some people don't put as much emphasis on convenience, fun and cost - each to their own.

Here is the budget rental link. Do it yourself and see.

The compro to a cars2go trip to Banff using a daily rate (in case you need to eat and in-case you want to step our for a walk in Banff / up tunnel mountain or something) would be:

Per day maximum $72.99 plus tax
Per km after 200 km per rental 45 cents, plus tax

It is 129km each way, so that is 260km + lets say 20km for checking around or picking up a friend in Calgary before you go. 80km X 45c = ($36 + $72.99) = $114.44 for the shoe-box, and yes, you'd have to add $20 gas for the unlimited km economy car from budget to the $21.84 charge, totaling $42. And guess what, if it gets stuck in Banff, or let's say is "out of range" from the mother ship or the battery drains, Budget is there in Banff and you'll have a new one.

Interesting. Cars2Go charges you $40 if the battery drains after your use:
https://www.car2go.com/en/calgary/wh...ost/#pid=45724

And yeah - you'd have to pay $50 + towing from Banff if that happens with Cars2Go also.

I'd use it in the city, but I'd never risk taking it outside for the above reasons, in addition to the higher rates.

[Calgarian]

If someone drove the Car2go to Banff, could someone else with a membership steal it, or would the rental only terminate when it was parked back in the home area in Calgary.

[Policy Wonk]

Originally Posted by shreddog

Has anyone else seen a Car2Go in such an unlikely location??

Funny you mention that, back in the fall we would see one or more parked at the skating rink in Hidden Valley around 10:00 or even later while we were out walking the dogs. We cut through that park there to get to the pathway along Beddington Trail.

[Ramsayfarian]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

If someone drove the Car2go to Banff, could someone else with a membership steal it, or would the rental only terminate when it was parked back in the home area in Calgary.

You can't end a rental out of the zone, so it one wouldn't be able to take it. If one could, that would be pee your pants funny.

[SubwayRev]

Originally Posted by suburbia

It is 129km each way, so that is 260km + lets say 20km for checking around or picking up a friend in Calgary before you go. 80km X 45c = ($36 + $72.99) = $114.44 for the shoe-box, and yes, you'd have to add $20 gas for the unlimited km economy car from budget to the $21.84 charge, totaling $42. And guess what, if it gets stuck in Banff, or let's say is "out of range" from the mother ship or the battery drains, Budget is there in Banff and you'll have a new one.

Interesting. Cars2Go charges you $40 if the battery drains after your use:
https://www.car2go.com/en/calgary/wh...ost/#pid=45724

And yeah - you'd have to pay $50 + towing from Banff if that happens with Cars2Go also.

I'd use it in the city, but I'd never risk taking it outside for the above reasons, in addition to the higher rates.

Or perhaps the person they're driving with doesn't live 20km away so they don't have to pay that, and perhaps they don't leave the lights on, so they don't have to pay for the battery drain or the tow. And perhaps they don't have a car, hence don't have any insurance, and hence would have to buy that for their rental as well.

Or perhaps they just want to walk outside their apartment in the Beltline, pick up a Car2Go, drive to Banff for lunch, and then drive back to their apartment, park outside their door and go upstairs. And perhaps they can easily afford it, so they don't give a shit if they pay an extra $40, $50, or even $100, because they have saved the most valuable commodity they have, time.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by SubwayRev

Or perhaps the person they're driving with doesn't live 20km away so they don't have to pay that, and perhaps they don't leave the lights on, so they don't have to pay for the battery drain or the tow. And perhaps they don't have a car, hence don't have any insurance, and hence would have to buy that for their rental as well.

Or perhaps they just want to walk outside their apartment in the Beltline, pick up a Car2Go, drive to Banff for lunch, and then drive back to their apartment, park outside their door and go upstairs. And perhaps they can easily afford it, so they don't give a shit if they pay an extra $40, $50, or even $100, because they have saved the most valuable commodity they have, time.

Yeah - that's possible. And maybe they could hitchhike too.

BTW there are numerous car rental outlets in the core also.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by suburbia

BTW there are numerous car rental outlets in the core also.

I was thinking about this over the weekend, and from what I remember the Car2Go system extends well outwards from the core. So I suppose someone could spend half their day walking or taking transit to the nearest car rental place and back... or they could just spend a few extra bucks, hop in and go.

I'm pretty sure people who use this service are not making minimum wage. Especially not if they're taking them out to Banff.

[DizzyEdge]

This convo is kind of silly, yes taking a car2go to Banff is doable. No it's probably not recommended due to cost and other risks. Yes some people will take it anyway trading cost and risk for convenience. It's silly because it seems to be a debate over the usefulness of service meant for innercity short trips using a trip to Banff as the example scenario.

[Cage]

Originally Posted by shreddog

Saw a Car2Go in Banff yesterday.

Based on the daily max rates and mileage surcharge (or does the max rate cover this), it seems like the couple driving the thing could have saved a few bucks through the normal rental route.

THe Car2Go in Banff was during the holiday period when normal rental cars were very short supply. The rates for last minute travel between Avis/Budget/Hertz/etc vehicle and Car2Go vehicle would be very close perhaps only 5-15% differential. The previous posts have been comparing advance purchase low season rates to Car2Go rates.

On one occaision in my recent past, I rented a vehicle in Kelowna airport and dropped same day at Penticton. Wife and I were attending a memorial service and the whole trip was booked on 2 days notice. Paid through the nose on this rental as it was high season rates and only one car available in all of Kelowna.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

It's silly because it seems to be a debate over the usefulness of service meant for innercity short trips using a trip to Banff as the example scenario.

Absolutely - that's been my point all along and why I stated earlier "I'd use it in the city, but I'd never risk taking it outside for the above reasons."

Originally Posted by freeweed

So I suppose someone could spend half their day walking or taking transit to the nearest car rental place and back... or they could just spend a few extra bucks, hop in and go.

Fair enough, though I suppose they could just use Cars2Go and spend $3-5, in return for a savings of $50-70 and lessening the risk of something happening to the car while outside of the service area (which would be a major pain). But who knows, maybe they want to spend "half their day taking transit to the nearest rental place" as you've stated. You do realize many rental places will pick you up too?

Anyway, enough discussion from me on this. The options are clear, and I agree that there "could" be some situations where you need to visit Banff for 30 minutes only and where paying 250% higher for a shoebox to do that in is irrespective for your circumstances.

Originally Posted by Cage

On one occaision in my recent past, I rented a vehicle in Kelowna airport and dropped same day at Penticton. Wife and I were attending a memorial service and the whole trip was booked on 2 days notice. Paid through the nose on this rental as it was high season rates and only one car available in all of Kelowna.

Yeah - one-way rentals are always much more expensive, as are situations where there are limited options (such as at Kelowna airport). Of course this is completely off left field for this forum, as I don't believe Cars2Go has this service between Kelowna and Penticton either.

[DizzyEdge]

Cage did have a good point as far as car2go being an imperfect but likely available backup in times of low traditional rental car availability.

[kw5150]

No one is saying they would rather take a car2go to banff. It is just simply another option for people in a pinch; or, who dont have enough patience to rent a car.

I am not one of the people who would take one to banff, unless some one-off situation happened.

[Cage]

Originally Posted by suburbia

Yeah - one-way rentals are always much more expensive, as are situations where there are limited options (such as at Kelowna airport). Of course this is completely off left field for this forum, as I don't believe Cars2Go has this service between Kelowna and Penticton either.

The Okanagan rental was not considered a one way rental, there was no drop charge as the rental was between two locations of the same franchise.

The Car2Go example of this would be allowing for regional areas like Airdrie to be Car2Go locations. Car2Go Berlin has this option as one can end a rental in Schoenefeld, Spandau, Marzhan, etc.

For Calgary I don't see this concept working just yet. A key missing factor is the relative ease of public transit to the outlying area. For example its easy to get an S-bahn train to Spandau where no such service exists to Airdrie.

Would it be beneficial to for Car2Go drop spots at specific locations outside the Home Area? Example: setting up 5-10 spots in Crowfoot area. Other mall areas could be included such as South Centre, SouthPointe 130th Ave, West Springs, etc. One could even make the case for other nontraditional areas like Calgary Airport or Cross Iron Mills. What are your thoughts?

[AgentGibb]

Originally Posted by Cage

Would it be beneficial to for Car2Go drop spots at specific locations outside the Home Area?

Since the service started I've hoped that they'd add C-Train Park-and-Rides as drop locations. It's relatively easy to get to the nearest C-Train station by bus from most places, and then you could pick up a car to go to the transit-inaccessible location of your choice.

I suspect they've avoided doing this sort of thing because it vastly increases the number of people that live within their effective service area, which means they'd need to buy a bunch more cars. Maybe this will become more attractive if/when Calgary is deemed a "successful" franchise.

The Vancouver Car2Go seems to have this sort of thing going on with several post-secondary campuses (I say this based on a look at their map... there's little islands in Richmond and Langley)

[Surrealplaces]

Speaking of more cars, they must have received a new batch of cars. I see twice as many on the road as I used to. I was downtown/Beltline on the weekend, and there seemed to be a car on every block.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by Surrealplaces

Speaking of more cars, they must have received a new batch of cars. I see twice as many on the road as I used to. I was downtown/Beltline on the weekend, and there seemed to be a car on every block.

Every week there seem to be more. I think that if anything, there's really only one conclusion to make from this:

Either this service is insanely successful (those trips to Banff just pad the bottom line), or someone is absolutely losing their shirt over this.