Last December I joined the Austin branch of Car2Go which is a really cool idea, I just never go around to using it. Thursday evening after the Caddyshack quote-along at the Alamo Ritz (downtown) was the opportunity I needed. Since the train doesn’t go north well after 8-9 PM, it was an excellent test.
The first downside I encountered was the phone-based application. You can only reserve the car immediately with the phone versus the computer-based version which can be several hours later.
With the reservation figured out, finding the actual vehicle was a brief adventure. I may not roam downtown Austin as often as I used to, but 368 San Jacinto Blvd is an address I can find relatively quickly. That’s where the car was supposed to be. When I discovered it wasn’t, the phone app sprung to life to give me further directions showing how the thing was really way east on 2nd Street. Hmmm.
The fleet Car2Go uses in the US, Canada and Europe is the Smart Car. Definitely well suited for inner city driving. Taking north on MoPac gave me some concern but then again, I only drive an automatic vehicle a couple times a year. Computers still can’t change the gears as well as a human. I did love the GPS built into the console to make sure I knew where I was going, namely to find the place to return it.
Sadly, the farthest northern point Car2Go has currently is the Domain, the pricey fashion mall on the city’s northwest side. Somara had to meet me there. The vehicle shaved the drive she would’ve had to take to get me in half at best.
Leaving the car behind led to a new technical glitch which required me to call the toll-free number. I was parking it in the appropriate location at the Domain yet it refused to end my session by locking itself. The nice customer-service lady was very helpful. Through GPS she confirmed I put it in the proper location so she remotely reset the car and gave me back 10 minutes; about how long I had been struggling with it.
Overall, Car2Go has some glitches which I blame half on me due to unfamiliarity. Will I use it again? Sure. The trip only consumed 33 of the 100 minutes I received for signing up last year. I think it will come in handy whenever Somara needs the car and I wanna go downtown outside the train’s operational hours.