San Diego is doubling down on the electric car sharing service car2go.
The City Council voted Monday to make several permanent changes to make it easier to run the electric car service, including allowing the cars to linger in city parking spaces between rentals.
“It allows us as the operator to more effectively manage our fleet and certainly it’s better for the members,” said William Berry, San Diego general manager for car2go.
The council approved changes to the municipal code to exempt car share vehicles and electric cars from parking time limits of 2 hours or more. They established an electric vehicle charging station zone and car share parking zones.
The ride sharing service pays the city for the use of its parking spaces.
Under car2go’s business model, drivers rent a car by the minute and leave the car at any location within the operating area. The Austin-based car sharing service has been in San Diego under a pilot program since 2011. San Diego is the company’s only location that uses just electric vehicles.
In recommending the changes, city officials cited the electric car sharing service’s popularity. It grew from 500 trips per week in San Diego in 2011 to more than 7,000 trips a week this year, which has helped promote the city’s plan to reduce greenhouse gases.
