Arlington Car2Go to Go Cross-Jurisdictional Later this Month

• May 11, 2016

by Nena Perry-Brown

Last month, UrbanTurf reported that the Arlington County Board unanimously approved allowing their car2go users to make one-way trips cross-jurisdictionally with DC.

That provision will finally go into effect on May 26th — and car2go is adding an extra incentive to sweeten the deal for Arlington car-share skeptics. A new promotion will allow first-time registrants to waive the $35 membership fee and receive 15 free minutes of drive-time.

“Partnering with Washington, D.C. is a logical next step for Arlington’s year-long demonstration study with car2go,” said Arlington County Director of Transportation Dennis Leach. “Our residents, workers and visitors will benefit from a seamless carsharing network that allows them to cross into the District, providing another transportation option for their daily trips.”

As UrbanTurf has been reporting, car2go’s trial period with Arlington has been rocky, with underutilized vehicles being removed from the fleet and fewer-than-expected trips and sign-ups. “The primary feedback we received from Arlington was that they wanted to commute into DC and vice versa,” said Aaron Landry, car2go general manager for the DC region.

With the enactment of cross-jurisdictional carsharing, Arlington residents will go from having access to 25 car2go vehicles to sharing a total of 800 with the District. And for those concerned about whether this will create an imbalance of vehicles from one side of the Potomac to the other, car2go is prepared for that as well. “We have a team that manages the fleet in areas, so after all of the data that we’ve been able to compile, we feel [able to respond to where demand is],” Landry noted.

This regulatory change in partnership with the District Department of Transportation comes at a convenient time, just on the heels of a tumultuous few months for Metrorail and their announcement of an upcoming maintenance blitz.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/arlington_car2go_to_go_cross-jurisdictional_later_this_month/11218