In a decision effective May 31, 2018, car2go’s carsharing services will be discontinued in Columbus.
In 2013, car2go was the first company to bring one-way carsharing to the Central Ohio area. But the company says a lack of adoption of its services has lead to the decision to discontinue operations here.
In an email, car2go communications manager Kendall Kelton says there was not any one factor that may have contributed to a lack of car2go adoption in Columbus, but a variety of factors that can affect any location, including population density and availability of mass transportation options.
“Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, Columbus residents did not adopt our service the way residents of cities like NYC, DC and Seattle have over the past several years,” Kelton said.
car2go services are also being discontinued in Toronto, where the company sites a new free-floating car-sharing pilot program passed by the city council as too restrictive, making its services “inoperable.”
Current car2go members can still use the service through May 31, and at other North American locations. However, the company says fewer cars may be available as that date approaches.
In a news release, the company does leave some hope for a possible return to Columbus: “We truly hope that as more people around the world – like you – adopt carsharing and embrace all its economic and environmental benefits, we might one day resume our service here.”
As of May 24, 2018 at 11:40 a.m., this story has been updated to include information from car2go communications manager Kendall Kelton, as well as new information about discontinued services in Toronto. For further information, including a full list of other U.S. and Canadian car2go locations, visit car2go.com.
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