car2go Calgary

Another «agree» on the below; when the service works, it’s fantastic. When it doesn’t, hooooooh boy.
I’ve been using Car2Go on and off for a few years now (less, now that I moved outside of the home zone) and absolutely love the convenience of it. And I LOVE that you only have to pay for it when you use it; no awful mandatory monthly fees! It’s convenient, useful, and a great, GREAT alternative to Calgary’s very sad public transit system. It was rare to be faced with a situation where there wasn’t a Car2Go within walking distance, which I really appreciated.
In the past 8 months or so, I’d seen a heavy incline in the number of issues I’d have when it came to signing out of the car. On more occasions that I can count, it couldn’t connect to the system so I’d have to call in, wait on hold for awhile, and get them to help me end my ride as well as refund me the $ 5 or so spent trying to sign out and waiting on hold. Their customer service was always fantastic and while the issues were a big nuisance, their reps were always quick and efficient.
The connection issues as well as the state some users leave the cars in (smoking, garbage, etc) can get pretty bad, but overall I love this service. I just wish the home area stretched further south so I could actually still use it regularly!

Why do I keep trying?! This service is not meant for downtown Calgary. I’ve been reserving and looking for cars for over an hour! There are 10 of us walking around the centennial parkade and there are only 3 cars in there… But guess what, the cars we’re all looking for might not even be in here because according to their service team most of the time the car’s signals are being «bounced» from another location — whatever that means? Someone in the elevator laughed at me holding my car to go card. Now I know why! My husband found a car that wasn’t even on the app and came to fetch me with it ugh. (403) 245‑0094 if you have problems too, call and let them know! This is not the first time this has happened to me.

I was pretty excited with Car2Go at first because i just moved to Calgary and chose to live in downtown core for ease and accessibility to the Ctrain for work. However, for grocery trips and appointments i use the service because i don’t have to worry about parking costs and insurance etc. The app makes it super easy to locate and start the rental process. This is all great if you can FIND a Car2Go…
I have walked blocks looking for a reserved car as indicated on my app only to either not have that vehicle where the GPS shows OR, my reserved vehicle disappearing. This was in downtown core area. Eventually, there were a few trips i gave up because i would have walked back and forth looking for said vehicle but failed.
The biggest disappointment came a few days ago when i had reserved a car and ready to go on my errands. I noticed as i did my walkaround that there was a huge scratch on the front bumper so to cover myself, i called in using the in vehicle calling system to report the damage. By then my errands were cancelled so i no longer need the vehicle but i was stationary parked for 6mins while speaking to the operator to report the damage that was caused previously by someone else. I went home and called Car2Go because my account was charged for that 6mins and the operator was helpful and apologetic but wasn’t able to reverse the transaction. Had i requested that while in the vehicle i would have been able to she said. I wasn’t given that piece of information while i was in the car so i just got charged for being a good customer and report a damage??! The operator tried to send the request to the local Car2Go office but i haven’t heard anything on it and this was a week ago.
All in all, i would say the service itself if you can find an undamaged clean vehicle to use, it’s great! As long as you don’t have to call customer service… i hope a competitor will come out soon.

I agree with the rest — when it’s good it’s good but when something happens it goes horribly. Read your terms and conditions people!
Whenever you park at the car2go stalls at the airport you get charged an extra 12.50 + tax on top of your trip total — I was expecting the trip to automatically end as it was counting down from 15 to about 6 when I ran to catch the shuttle to the car — but then halfway through my check in I got a text saying the trip didn’t end properly. I then had to take a taxi (approx same cost of the car2go rental) to book it back to the car to end the trip by scanning my card without having to do anything else like shut the door/​window, etc. Still caught my flight but the trip not ending definitely created unnecessary grief.

Well, I gave up my downtown parking pass after 3 years. The rates jumped to over $ 500 a month. The truth is, indulging myself in downtown parking has been pretty sweet. But with time, my priorities are changing, and I would much rather use that $ 500+ a month towards other fun things, especially in this economy.
Truthfully Car2Go has not been much of a compromise, because it is so darn convenient. Even though I am outside of the zone where cars are parked, I simply drive to a car and pick it up, drive downtown and then snag another Car2Go to drive back to where my vehicle is parked. It saves me the exorbitant rates of parking in the core. It actually costs me less!
Thank you for the amazing service!

I’ve been using Car2Go since practically the day they arrived in Calgary. I loved it at first but throughout the past year I’ve had SO many issues that it’s become more of a pain than anything to use these cars. I live inner city and don’t have a car. I work down-​town and I’m also a University student so you can imagine I’m pretty busy and I used to think these cars were so convenient.
The GPS system is awful. ⁸⁄₁₀ times the car is NOT where they say it will be. One time I was standing on a corner where, according to the Car2Go app, there should have been 3 cars visible. Not a single one to be seen. The University parkade is the worst, I don’t even bother trying to get one there any more.
But the absolute straw that broke the camel’s back happened recently. I used a Car2Go on a weekend and parked it Saturday morning on a relatively busy street that you are completely allowed to park on all weekend. On Monday, the car was ticketed and towed. I’m sorry but are we supposed to monitor the cars we use for days afterwards to make sure they have been moved 2 days later? It’s absolutely ridiculous that Car2Go does not have someone monitoring this. I should not be charged for something that happened TWO FULL DAYS after I ended my rental. I emailed Car2Go 6 days ago with no response. I also tweeted them but haven’t heard back yet. I ALSO called them and was told someone would call me back but I’m still waiting.
The tow charge was $ 114 total and I was charged $ 252.29.
BEWARE they expect you to monitor the cars you park for days just in case it isn’t moved and you get a ticket two days later.
Horrible, unresponsive customer service and ridiculous «processing fees» means STAY AWAY from this company at all costs. After all, the bus is only $ 3.

Definitely a love hate relationship as mentioned by other reviewers.
I live inner city and often don’t want to bother with using my car or taking transit so car2go is very handy… when I can find one. Its true there are tons in downtown during the day but never at the end of the day and weekends are a real challenge. The parking in parkades is hit and miss on finding them in their «designated spots» and there is the challenge with the signal. I’ve been told that some downtown commuters «hide» cars on the wrong floors of parkades so they can ensure they have one when they need it. Don’t know that anyone’s really that devious but I have been called naïve before.
Service has never been an issue for me when I have had to contact the car2go reps but that is also a rare occasion.
Some frustrations with the app booting me out just when I want to reserve a car and I do find the password requirements (length, use a capital and a number and a symbol) really cumbersome and actually hard to remember but that’s not really their issue its my memory.
Pricewise I think its more reasonable than a taxi and its cleaner and lets face it often safer than transit.
My only critique is having to travel up to 10 blocks out of downtown to get and rarely finding one in my community. Other than that I love the cute little cars and I’m glad of the service.

I made the mistake of using Car2Go for a short 5 minute drive from my home to my office. Turned out to be the most expensive car trip of my life costing me $ 336!
While I was sure I had parked legitimately, I ended up being cited for parking in a bus zone for which the car was ticketed and towed. Now I understand if I had made a mistake in where I parked, I am responsible for the ticketing and towing. However, what I was not prepared for was Car2Go’s $ 150 processing fee. When I called the local Car2Go office to explain the situation and ask if they would be willing to grant any leniency to me as a new customer by offering to reduce the processing fee, they refused.
Apparently, Car2Go cares more about getting $ 150 than they do about retaining me as a loyal customer. I will NOT ever again use their service and encourage others to also avoid using it.
If you do not own your own vehicle, support our local taxi drivers who are at least trying to earn a living rather than supporting a non-​customer friendly corporation.

I agree with the rest, I have a membership but have mixed feelings about the whole thing. When it’s good it’s awesome! But it’s not reliable and that I suppose is the crux of the system, and the sticking point that generates the most issues for people.
A few things I have noticed, they continue to quietly dial up the rental price per minute, I think it used to be in somewhere in the mid to low 30 cents per min when I signed up, and as of today it’s sitting at 41 cents per minute. So be aware that yes, you only pay a one time fee but the price per minute can change with little notice to you — read the fine print I guess. it’s still a reasonable transportation option.
I have also had some mixed experiences with calling into the 1888 number, I have had a car that I had booked and wouldn’t scan, I called in and got through really fast and was helped right away. I had another instance where I had an issue with a vehicle and at the end of the call I was told I would receive the minutes back for the time I spent trying to fix the problem but never heard back from the company again. Being left hanging seems to be a common theme and the work around tends to be hassling and nagging them through social media. Meh.
I like the app and tend to rely on that most frequently, it’s glitchy but super handy when it’s working well. I have used both the radar to try to locate a car in my area, the booking function, and have never had any problem with booking a car and it not being there.
It’s good when it’s good, but don’t count on it being there for you. Wah Woh.

I’ve seen other reviewers comment on their love-​hate relationship with Car2Go, and I can 100% echo this sentiment. If Car2Go plans work out, you can find me doing a celebratory dance by the curbside. When things don’t go according to plan, you can find me kicking the curb in a fit of rage. There is never an in-​between.
If you live downtown, you can pretty much expect that there will be TONS of Car2Go cars in your neighbourhood while you’re at work, and never in the evenings. Weekends are a hit or miss. Be prepared for that.
I spend a lot of time at UofC, and the cars are located in the Arts Parkade. Two problems here: 1) sometimes people don’t know where the stalls are, so if you reserve a car that’s in the parkade you may not find it in the designated spots. Have fun wandering through the parkade, trying to find the car before your half-​hour reservation window is up. 2) Sometimes the signal in the parkade is weak, so if you’re trying to start/​end a trip there, there is a chance that your card won’t be read.
My biggest pet-​peeve is that when I have a roadside problem, I phone the 1 – 888 number on the card, and I am on hold for. ever. I have found the best way around this is to tweet at them that you’re having a problem, DM them your cell number, and wait for them to call. If you have problems outside of regular business hours, you’re SOL.
On a more positive note, the people who work at Car2Go are friendly and helpful. I’ve never had a bad customer service experience. I see them all around the community, and frequently spin the giant wheel to win minutes. My boyfriend and I share a car, and sometimes Car2Go is ultra handy when we both need to be somewhere at the same time. I am especially thankful for Car2Go when the CTrain is down. I have been a member of other car share services (ZipCar in Toronto), and this is a lot more convenient and casual. I also love that I can park the Car2Go pretty much anywhere.
I have noticed that there are a lot of new Car2Go parking partnerships, like at the Chinook Centre and the Airport. I hope to one day see the same happen on the Stampede grounds or at the Saddledome.
While I have learned the hard way not to rely on Car2Go for anything other than convenience, I have also grown fond of those cute little handy cars!

I loved reading all the reviews for Car2go in Calgary. A «Love/​Hate» relationship with this service is completely true. It can either make, or break your day. But think about our lives before Car2go, people. Did you enjoy taking the train? Did you enjoy taxi cabs? For me, I use Car2go twice a day. I have had my share of issues, but most of them have been addressed quickly and efficiently by a rep. I do find, however, that they are sometimes a little inconsistant with how they pay back minutes or time lost for inconvenience. Sometimes they just say «Sorry, we had issues» and othertimes they’re like «Here, take these minutes, and this hug!»
The little booths they set up on the street and in the malls are perfect. If you’re a frequent flyer like the Megs, you’ll enjoy popping in and grabbing some free minutes on their Spinny Wheel!
I love the presents they leave in the vehicles also! Their use of Social Media such as Twitter has been incredible to use and follow along with. All in all my life is much better since Car2Go came to town. All we ever do is complain, complain, complain. Complain about traffic, about the C-​Train, complain about costs. So when an alternative comes to town, let’s not me so quick to dismiss its awesomeness without realizing how our lives were before we had it.
Car2go, I love you longtime. Thank you for bring your lil MicroMachines to CowTown.

A convenience I can’t imagine my life without. I’ve worked out a system that doesn’t force car2go to fit where it doesn’t in my life, and I’m not disappointed. As an inner city girl who works downtown, it’s perfect.

I love the intention of car2go but I’m not exactly sold on the convenience. I’ve reserved cars a few times that end up being in many story parking garages, or just not there, and car2go isn’t in my area (even though I’m only 4 km to downtown) so I just forget to use it for periods of time.
When they are available and in my area (I’m at 4^th ave and 3^rd st, so I guess it’s kind of a tricky place to park so there aren’t often many within a block radius), it is convenient for having a lunch outside of downtown!
It’s pretty high tech with the car scan and the key release, but the whole «damage reporting» situation sucks. To report damage (which you should if you see damage, because otherwise you might be charged for it), you have to scan in (so you’re getting charged) and then call their hotline from the car, be put on hold for like 20 minutes (which you are paying for) and then report the damage. It’s a dumb system.
Aside from that, it’s a great addition to the City of Calgary and I would way rather take that than the crappy bus system.

I’ve heard mixed reviews from friends about their experiences with Car2go over the last year or so since it launched in Calgary. Initially, I was hesitant to register and so left it alone. But a recent trip to Vancouver changed my mind. When I got back to Calgary, I opened my account, and as of yesterday when a little envelope showed up in the mail, I am now a card carrying Car2go member.
What convinced me? How EASY it is to just grab a car and go! And that you don’t need to pay for parking anywhere downtown. I live inner city and I’m constantly headed to the core for meetings, media nights, dinners, etc. and parking is just so bloody expensive…
Anyway… the good and the bad!
— Parking, like I mentioned is included. You’ve just got to make yourself aware of any parking restrictions. Good!
— Finding a car outside of the core between 8am-​4pm. Not as good. It seems everyone so far uses them to commute downtown. But that’s remediable. If you see more cars hanging out on the streets of Bridgeland/​Renfrew… you’ll know yours truly has been stacking cars in the neighbourhood ;)
— Simply locating a car. Good. The app is so easy to use and you can reserve a car from there for upto 30 minutes before you need it. It uses your GPS to let you know how far away the car is and directions on how to get there. I have no experience using this in a parkade though, I could see that being a little bit trickier to find your car because you don’t know what level it’s on. Although many parkades have designated Car2go parking spaces.
— Unlocking the car. Good and so simple! Just hold your card up to the little reader on the front, do a walk around of the car to make sure there’s no damage you want to report and off you go!
— Payment. Easy. I think it’s about $ 0.33/minute. Although if your stuck in rush hour that could get expensive. But for the outside-​of-​rush-​hour zipping around I do, it’s cheaper for me in the end!
— Home zone. Good! It’s huge! Stretching from McKnight in the north, Deerfoot in the East, Glenmore in the south and Sarcee in the west, there’s a very large area in which to use those little smart cars.
— Inter-​city use. Like I said, we used the service in Vancouver with a Calgary card. It was just as easy! The rates were different though. I think $ 0.38/min there. A couple of times the navigation was out so finding places to park were a little more complicated. But hey, for not having to find parking downtown while we were visiting, it worked quite well.
— The car. Good! The first time I encountered smart cars was in university when one of my marketing cohorts used them in a presentation. They were just starting to hit the road in Canada. I looked at them and scoffed. And now… there’s so much room, they’re super tiny and easy to park… for running around town, I can scoff no longer.
— The membership… good. $ 35 one time fee and easy instructions on how to fuel up the car if you need to… the rest is billed right to your account.
So far, it’s been a good experience!

I have a total love hate relationship with Car2go. When I can actually find the car that I reserved, yippee. When I walk around with my mad face on because the car I reserved cannot be found, well, hell hath no fury and all that. Over all the service is fair. The GPS locater is generally spot on, blocks off or not working. Customer service is sorry for your trouble and loads up your account with free minutes but that doesn’t make the bus ride home any faster or make you feel any better about cancelling an appointment last minute. There are only 300 cars in a city that totals over a million people, you do the math, the odds are poor that you’ll score a ride.
The car itself is utilitarian. Basic, easy to drive and meant to get you from point A to point B. You can try Point C but your butt and back won’t thank you. There is a radio for your listening pleasure and an app. with pictures of trees. The worse you drive, the worse your trees look. I personally like to widdle my down to a fine point (joking). The car is small and handles accordingly, steering is OK. The space inside fits two adults comfortably. There is a small storage area behind the two front seats that fits a few bags but I wouldn’t use this car for a major haul of any type.
Overall, the service is a good idea but the company has to provide more cars and needs to get the reservation issues sorted. I recommend it if you’re in a pinch but I wouldn’t rely on Car2go for consistent, everyday service.
Update 04÷29÷13 Still loads of problems. Car not where it’s supposed to be, ages waiting for customer service to respond. When they do respond they are very confused about what to do. I can’t deal with inefficiency on such a high level. Will be terminating my membership.

Like many cities with similar companies, Calgary has joined the club of convenient car accessibility all over town. As a downtown inhabitant, we have considered signing up for the city wide convenience… Unfortunately, our minds were changed when a Car 2 Go rental damaged my own car (my driver’s side mirror was knocked off and dented).
I acknowledge that I am very lucky that the renter was honest and left a note on my windshield that read, «Sorry I hit your car, my name is — — . I was driving a Car 2 Go. Please call them at their Calgary office at 403−410−6365.» When I called this number, a friendly Car 2 Go representative was already aware of the accident as it was reported by the renter who hit my car. She assured me that an insurance rep/​appraiser from Car 2 Go would be in contact with me…
It’s been 6 months and many messages left at the same number with no reply. Given that all renters must pay a monthly fee for accident insurance/​coverage with this type of car rental company, it’s sad to see that no one wants to own their part in this accident.
UPDATE: Nine months post-​initial contact with Car2Go to report my car’s damage, Car2Go has reimbursed my insurance company for the total repair costs. In the end, I finally got my deductible refunded. I think it really helped that I worked with a determined adjuster who kept calling the Car2Go office to settle the account.
I hope you take my review as a «be prepared, be aware» warning of Car 2 Go in case this happens to you…

I’ve used car2go twice recently, and found the experience both very straightforward and convenient. I’m not sure if the software has been upgraded since some of the other reviews came out, but the voice and dash prompts are very explicit about what you need to do to start and end a session. There are also tutorials on the car2go Web site if you want to brush up beforehand.
I think that from both pricing and convenience standpoints, this service is an alternative to taxis rather than rental cars. The mobile app shows you available cars nearby, which in downtown Calgary tends to be within a five minute walk (as long as it takes to call and get a cab to pick you up). The car itself is actually kind of fun to drive with the exception of the brakes, which seem exceptionally mushy. The GPS system is a nice touch. The really convenient thing is that you can park it in any metered zone or city lot and just leave it, making one way trips a breeze. If you’re going out to the bar, take a car2go there, and a cab home… it’ll save you money. This also works for floating down the river in the summer, can’t wait to try that!

I saw the hype. I read the ads. I took the free Village Ice Cream at the Sun N’ Salsa festival for signing up. I won a ton of minutes at other promo events. And then came time to drive it.
Well, all I can say is that it was a relatively painless thing to do. Use the handy dandy id card to log in and then get the car started. Heed the warning to not use the car to try and jump over a few school buses or the demolition derby. And then I drove that car… and it was a heck of a rough ride. The brakes on these new Smart Cars basically are questionably functional but I needed to stomp on them to get them to function.
Also, I wasn’t all that thrilled about the way the minutes were allocated. I had all of 80 minutes from promotional events, but gave me about a month to use them so they’re all gone. As there were few opportunities to use the minutes (the cars were always at least 1 km away from my home or work… even though I’m in the home area). But then, hey, since most of the minutes were free, and the one time I did finally get to use it, I hated the ride. Sooo… I’ll keep the membership for emergency, but I probably won’t be using it.
#25 of Unilocal’s 30-​Day Review Challenge

Oh, Car 2 Go. You had so much promise. I can’t get 100% on board with you, but I can’t leave you either.
I’m sitting at about a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ success rate with Car 2 Go. Half of the cars I reserve I actually succeed in renting & using. Which are pretty poor odds, if I may say so myself. However, they do (eventually) get back to my emails and have given me some bonus minutes on my account as an apology. But it’s not really enough when you end up having to cancel an appointment, take a cab or are standing outside in the cold for 20 minutes looking for a car that doesn’t exist.
I was originally very excited for the concept because right now, visiting my doctor looks like this:
1. Get up excrutiatingly early (6am) to drive down south to the Chinook LRT
2. Do laps of the LRT parking lot before I accept there are no open spots
3. Drive around the blocks and get progressively more moody until I find a spot blocks away that looks like I won’t be ticketed or towed during the day
4. Walk back to the ctrain, board the overcrowded train and inevitably end up late to work
5. Leave work at least an hour early to catch the train back down south
6. Drag my weary butt to my car and hope there isn’t a ticket on it (and that it’s still there)
7. Drive to my doctor’s office for a 10 minute appointment (she’s seriously fast) and drive home
With car 2 go, I was hoping it would look more like this:
1. Reserve a car 2 go near my office 24 hours before my appointment
2. Get up at a normal time and happily take my bus downtown
3. About half an hour before the appointment, grab my car 2 go and drive to my doctor
4. Drive home with car 2 go and leave it outside my house (in home zone)
Unfortunately, with the spottiness of the reservation system, that never really worked. And now they’ve eliminated the long-​term reservation altogether, so it’s pretty useless to me. I can’t just «hope» there will be a car 2 go in the vicinity 15 minutes before I need to head to my appointment — I need to KNOW there will be a car to take me there. I’ve had to take a cab last minute to my appointment and beg, borrow and steal a ride from someone to get home already, thanks to Car 2 Go.
But, their short-​term reservation system has failed me too. Cars are consistently not parked where I’m texted that they would be. And on one occasion I literally just couldn’t get the car to start/​go (I think something was loose with the parking brake). Plus, their customer service sucks (it takes about 15 – 30 minutes to get ahold of their call centre, which means by the time you talk to someone, you are already late for where you were going and/​or someone has taken your reserved car, and it’s weeks for a response by email).
Sooooo… why do I keep using it (or trying to)? Because it’s an option that’s available to me. But it’s not going to be the awesome solution I thought it would be. I know it’s a learning curve in a new city. And I promise to update this review in six months to see how they’ve managed to deal with the issues they’re having in Calgary.
Review #14 of Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge 2012

I just used Car2Go for the first time yesterday. Experience was top notch! Highly recommended for folks wanting to dodge Calgary’s absurd downtown parking rates.
The concept is straightforward and the cars are super easy to use. I first signed up as a member last week and within 4 business days, had my membership card mailed to me.
Yesterday I had to get to a business breakfast meeting in Kensigntoon during morning rush hour. The LRT just didn’t offer me a reliable option of arriving on time (because of the constant delays when passing through Calgary’s downtown core). So I used Car2Go.
I could have taken my own vehicle, but paying for parking is absolute insanity! In case you are not aware Car2Go has brokered a deal with The City of Calgary to park in any ParkPlus parking stall or lot at no extra charge.
Immediately after waking up, I reserved a Car2Go with the Car2Go app. The reservation took seconds. I then drove my car to Inglewood (I live in the suburbs where I cannot get Car2Go service by my house) and parked my car in a free spot. I switched to the Car2Go vehicle I reserved, and parked the Car2Go for FREE steps away from my destination.
I estimate my Car2Go trip cost $ 4.00 (@$ 0.35/minute). Which was about $ 10 less what I would have spend with my vehicle.
Way to go Car2Go! The only thing I would like changed is to be billed by the kilometer not minute. Great experience and will use again.