car2go in Miami (Miami Beach, South Beach: apartment, rental, home)

[ace587]

anybody recently used this service? i found one parked near my friends apartment and decided to try it out i recently got the card to use with it. Its a pretty cool concept. It was easy to use.

[tallrick]

I would be surprised if this works in the Miami area. I see cars stripped and on blocks on the future, or just the typical, dirty Miami car looking like a self service taxi.

[FlyMIA]

Originally Posted by tallrick

I would be surprised if this works in the Miami area. I see cars stripped and on blocks on the future, or just the typical, dirty Miami car looking like a self service taxi.

The cars are all over Miami and its been doing well.

I prefer Zipcar but if you live downtown/Brickell and don't own a car it is a good way to go for those trips you need a small car for.

[ace587]

Originally Posted by FlyMIA

The cars are all over Miami and its been doing well.

I prefer Zipcar but if you live downtown/Brickell and don't own a car it is a good way to go for those trips you need a small car for.

i like how they are all over midtown.

[southfleddy]

I used to work for Car2Go Miami and the company let us use it to attend the many events the company hosted.

I think the concept is best applied when you go event hopping. For example, you go to bayside then decide you may want to take a ride to Cocowalk.

It saves you time looking for parking, plus it's small enough to fit almost anywhere tight.

[hurricaneMan1992]

Since I live on the Beach now, and most of my prospective car trips are outside of Car2Go's home region, I opted for Zipcar. Also all the Car2Go's in Miami Beach are in garages which can require several minutes just to get out of---which of course gets added on to your tab. By the time you get out of the 5th and Collins garage and get through the construction traffic it can already be 10 minutes, which is about what I've heard the average complete rental is. Finally, I don't have a smartphone or a tablet with 3G (only wifi), which you really do need to take full advantage of Car2Go. (A 2-way texting option to reserve and direct you to a Car2Go would be immensely useful!) I'm thinking Car2Go *may* be useful for me for the one-way trip back to the beach after taking the bus to Midtown for shopping on the way back from work--but only if there are enough cars parked there that I can just tap in to without making a smartphone reservation (assuming I happen to have my Kindle, using the free wifi is also an option).

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by FlyMIA

The cars are all over Miami and its been doing well.

I prefer Zipcar but if you live downtown/Brickell and don't own a car it is a good way to go for those trips you need a small car for.

Hopefully the concept can be successful. However, I have yet to see one as I rarely drive through the Brickell area and they do not need that in the rural areas i spend most of my driving time in.

[ace587]

Originally Posted by tallrick

Hopefully the concept can be successful. However, I have yet to see one as I rarely drive through the Brickell area and they do not need that in the rural areas i spend most of my driving time in.

yeah they are mostly in Brickell, Miami Beach (pedestrian friendly areas)

[oronzous]

even though i don't live in the area served by car2go, i carry the card and i've used it a couple of times.

within the city of Miami, you can park it wherever street parking is legal.
In South Beach or the airport, you have to park it in some designated areas.

[hurricaneMan1992]

So I signed up for car2go and made my first trip last night. It was from the garage at 5th and Collins to Price Choice on NE2nd, and back. Nobody claimed the car I had parked, but there were 2 others on the same block in case someone had grabbed it.

The cars themselves do feel sluggish, and the braking is a bit funky. I wouldn't want to spend much time on I-95 with these cars. However, the message, voice prompts, and touch screen with GPS make it more user friendly than Zipcar.

When it came to loading my stuff in the back, it took a while to figure out how to open the back hatch. The website just says open it at the window first then pull two levers on the hatchback and it comes down. Hint: they left out a critical detail--you have to push the unlock button on the dash inside the car before any of this works!!!

For trips in the city where you're going to be parked for a while and street parking or dedicated garage parking is available--think dinner+movie, or any kind of extended shopping--it can be very advantageous because you don't pay for the time you're parked, or for the parking itself. It's a great way to come over to South Beach and have a guaranteed spot to park in the private garage closest to the Beach, without all the expense. Would also be cheaper than a cab or Uber to go between 5th and Collins and the Lincoln Road garage.

Now for the longer trips up to Broward County, and if you plan to buy bulky stuff, or if there's more than two of you, Zipcar is going to be way better. And if you want to buy beer.... *Technically* even when you put beer in the hatchback of a Car2Go, it is still in reach of the driver, and I imagine you can get busted for that!

Both options are definitely better than the hassle and expense of owning a car on the Beach.