Car sharing is exploding in downtown Vancouver. In 2007, there were 160 car-share vehicles; today, there are more than 2,100.

The numbers swelled this week when Car2go announced it was doubling its local fleet. Six hundred and twenty-five Smart cars in the distinctive white and blue Car2go colours will be added through the end of September, bringing the local fleet to 1,250 vehicles.

Car2go operates in 14 cities in North America and 30 globally and has a worldwide fleet of 13,500 vehicles. And now Vancouver has surpassed Berlin to claim the largest Car2go fleet in the world.

“I think the reason Car2go has been so successful in Vancouver is two-fold,” said Dacyl Armendariz, who came Vancouver from Car2go’s headquarters in Austin, Tex. to help announce the expansion.

“The population is really dense here, which makes it a perfect fit for a car-sharing service. There’s also a good public transportation infrastructure already in place, and Car2go is a great complement to an existing public transit system.

“I also think there’s a green mindset here. That also helps. This is a walkable city, and car sharing fits nicely into that environment.”

Car2go’s Vancouver general manager Chris Iuvancigh said the company expanded to meet demand.

“One of the biggest complaints we’ve heard over the last couple of months and years is that members want to use our service but they can’t find a car in their neighbourhood,” he said.

“We’re hoping this increase is going to satisfy the demand and make a car available whenever they need one.”

There are three other big car-share companies in town. Modo was the first local car-share service, beginning life in 1997 as the Co-operative Auto Network. It now has 401 vehicles.

Zipcar, which has been operating in Vancouver since 2007, has 230 vehicles. The newest car-sharing company is Evo, which launched four months ago. It is owned by BCAA and has 250 cars.

Customers typically buy a membership to the car-share company then pay a fee for every trip they take.

For Car2go and Evo, membership is $35 and each trip costs 41 cents per minute. Zipcar membership is $7 per month, plus $7 per hour for a vehicle. Modo costs $5 per month for membership plus $8 per hour. But if you pay $500 to be a “member-owner,” there is no monthly fee and the hourly fee is $4. Companies may also charge registration fees or extra costs for exceeding kilometres allowances.

Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs said the city is “very happy” with the way car sharing has taken off in Vancouver.

“We think it’s an alternative to car ownership,” said Meggs. “It’s a good extension of the transit system for a lot of people, it integrates well with taxis.”

In fact, Meggs uses both Car2go and Modo himself.

“On many occasions they’re more available than a taxi, and more convenient,” he said.

“I can use different kinds of vehicles, depending on my needs. So I’ve used a truck for a move, a van to take family elders to the interior for a weekend. I’m not trying to manage everything in a single type of car, I can access different types of cars for different jobs.”

Evo knows this, which is why it decided to go with bigger cars than the two-seater Smart cars Car2go uses.