Arriving just in time in the District of Columbia, as Safe Track disrupts Metro service, General Motors launched 'Maven' to compete with ZipCar, Car2Go, and Enterprise car sharing services.
"Maven, a car-sharing service launched by General Motors, open[ed] for business Monday [July 18] in the District offering 40 vehicles in 10 lots scattered throughout the city," reports Lori Aratani in the Dr. Gridlock column for The Washington Post.
The company hopes to distinguish itself from other players in the market by offering “new vehicles with high trim levels.” The OnStar suite of services, which includes keyless entry, also will be available for users free of charge.
"To be honest, though, it sounds a whole lot like the other roundtrip car-sharing services available locally—except with fewer cars and parking spots," writes Rachel Sadon for DCist.
Zipcar, for example, has a fleet of more than 1,000 cars, and just added one-way trips around the region to boot. So is there any reason to give Maven a go?
With no membership fee, is there any reason not to? And rates are competitive, adds Sadon.
Prices for Maven start at $8 an hour for compact cars, like the Spark [and VOLT], to $14 for premium cars like the Cadillac ATS and standard SUVs like the GMC Yukon, up to $24 for the Escalade. Zipcar's rates start at $8 an hour, while Enterprise's start at $5.
More importantly, all car-sharing services may be in demand to fill the gaps left by SafeTrack reductions in service as D.C. Metro tries to "accelerate three years' worth of work into approximately one year," according to Metro.
Platform for self-driving cars?
Wired has speculated that the roll-out of Maven—which started in Ann Arbor and has since also expanded to Boston and Chicago—is actually just the foundation for the driverless future that GM plans to build.
As one entrant into the industry emerges, one departs
Bay Area-based FlightCar will be shutting down, reports Austin Walsh for the Daily Journal on July 19. FlightCar appeared to offer a unique service, more part of the sharing economy than their competitors.
The FlightCar business model was built around facilitating travelers renting their cars to others while they were out of town. Those who used the site’s services would receive a share of the rental proceeds, a free lift to the airport and a car wash.
However, all is not lost.
The essence of the FlightCar will live on though, as the technology platform has been sold to Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America [see October post], and will be used to beef up the luxury car brand’s innovation lab for new services, according to [their] announcement.
Mercedes-Benz already owns car-sharing company Car2Go. In April, BMW launched ReachNow in Seattle, modeled on Car2Go.
Hat tip to POLITICO Morning Transportation.
FULL STORY: GM launches new car-sharing service in D.C.
Good News on Car Sharing
Car sharing networks that allow the vehicle to be returned to any location were found to have the impact of removing seven cars for each rented car in San Diego in a three-year study released July 19.
Mercedes-Benz Bets on a Suburban Future
From a new Silicon Valley facility, Mercedes' R&D department is developing car-share services based on a vision of 21st-century suburbs. The company is also testing self-driving prototypes and electric models.
To Serve a Growing Market, Car-Share Goes Custom
Stephanie Steinberg and Bill Vlasic survey the growing universe of car-sharing services. From big corporations to non-profits, the high demand for car sharing in urban areas allows a variety of alternatives to "coexist comfortably."
Red Cities, Blue Cities, and Crime
Homicides rose across the nation in 2020 and 2021. But did they rise equally in all cities, or was the situation worse in some than in others?
The Shifting Boomer Bulge: More Bad News for America’s Housing Crisis?
In the first of a two-part series, PlaceMakers’ Ben Brown interviews housing guru Arthur C. Nelson on the sweeping demographic changes complicating the housing market.
A Serious Critique of Congestion Costs and Induced Vehicle Travel Impacts
Some highway advocates continue to claim that roadway expansions are justified to reduce traffic congestion. That's not what the research shows. It's time to stop obsessing over congestion and instead strive for efficient accessibility.
IPCC Report: The World Is Running Out of Time on Climate Change
The planet is not doing enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a recent report published by the United Nations’ International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Skyline-Defining High-Rise Potentially Coming to Boise
A rendering making the rounds in Boise depicts a 40-story apartment building that would be taller than all other buildings in one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.
Buttigieg: Tesla ‘Autopilot’ Marketing ‘A Concern’
The USDOT secretary says marketing doesn’t fall under his department’s investigative authority, but expressed disapproval of language that implies autonomous operation.
Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps Program
Cornell University
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact: Mobility, Community, Possibility
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
