New Car Sharing Program Adding A Fleet Of 300 Smart Cars

DENVER (CBS4) - No car? No insurance? No problem. If you only need a vehicle occasionally, 4 On Your Side Money Saver Suzanne McCarroll found a new service coming to Denver that lets people rent a ride by the minute.

McCarroll took the "car2go" service for a test drive.

"One of the fun features of this car is that it recognizes you and your card key, so when you get in it, it says, 'Hello, Suzanne McCarroll,' " she said.

car2go is a smart car.

"You simply walk up to an existing vehicle, hold the membership card (to the scanner), it will process the card," Nicholas Cole with car2go said.

For 38 cents per minute, drivers are good to go. For those who only need to do a quick errand, they're out only a few dollars. Members don't pay for gas or car insurance and they don't even have to pay for parking meters in Denver.

"Instead of having a vehicle that's parked for the majority of the day, you have access to a fleet of vehicles any time of day and you can use it for as long as you want," Cole said.

Find where the cars are parked around the city on the car2go smartphone app, and users don't have to drop off the car where they picked it up.

It's different than car share programs like "Occasional Car," which charges by the hour and requires users to return it where they rent it, and rent it for a specified amount of time.

car2go started in Europe and is now catering to drivers all across the U.S. Three hundred cars will be available in Denver beginning this Saturday.

"It's like driving a little roller skate," McCarroll said. "The cars are fun to drive, and if you need a car only now and then, it could be money saver for you."

car2go is waiving it's $35 dollar initiation fee during this weekend's kick-off program.

Link: c2go