BMW will be suspending it DriveNow carsharing program in San Francisco in November, according to recent reports. The move comes after a bit more than 3 years of successful operation in the city, and, apparently, is largely the result of parking spot scarcity in the very expensive city.
The program debuted in San Francisco back in August 2012, shortly after the launch of the ActiveE plug-in. After the launch of the i3, the program was largely shifted to use of that model.
Those familiar with the many issues currently facing San Francisco will perhaps not be surprised that the killing blow in this case was simply a lack of space. This, in spite of the fact that 80 additional spaces were obtained for the 150-car fleet back in 2014.
“We hope to return to San Francisco in the future and will continue to engage with the City on possible solutions that will allow you to experience the full benefits of our one-way car sharing service,” stated DriveNow CEO Richard Sternberg on the company’s website. “In the meantime, we are focusing our efforts on new cities where our transportation solution can flourish. We would like to thank you for your loyal support and embracing flexible car sharing as an alternative transportation method.”
It’s still unrevealed which cities, it should be noted — company reps have yet to comment publicly on the matter. Other cities currently host to DriveNow programs include: London, Copenhagen, Vienna, and 3 different German cities. Going on that information, I’d guess maybe somewhere in the northeastern US? Or San Diego? Any guesses (or inside information)?
I don’t think this kind of a program will flourish in US cities UNLESS they’ve got severely limited parking. Otherwise it’s just too ingrained in US culture to have your own car and use it everywhere. Why pay for a car sharing service if you have your own car, unless parking is a nightmare? The only other US city I can think of that’s famous for not owning your own car is New York. San Diego, with its conservative leaning and general sprawl with plenty of parking in most areas does not sound like a good candidate. Maybe running the cars along coastlines where parking is tighter would work, but then people would take them to the beach and fill them with sand.
Starting up a ton of small programs on college campuses might work. The younger generation is more prone to not owning a car and to doing new things like car sharing, and parking at most campuses I’ve seen is very tight.
Washington DC has it too – car2go – which uses Smarts.
There must be some sweet spot on density and parking availability that would be interesting to understand.
I now own a Smart, and think the form factor is perfect for cities. So easy to park! The two passenger thing, and the 60 mile range, I am starting to get tired of (I hope Musk doesn’t miss on M3 by 2 years!).