car2go says cars sit idle for over 13 hours a day in Richmond

RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) – Car-share service car2go Vancouver is discontinuing service in Richmond as of February 1st.

Back in December 2014, the “Home Area” was expanded to include Richmond, but the company says its cars are sitting idle in that city for over 13 hours a day.

“This is a stark contrast to the vehicles in the Vancouver Home Area, which move frequently, ensuring that our vehicles are in constant circulation, rather than occupying limited parking spaces,” says the company in an email update to customers, announcing the “difficult decision” to eliminate service in Richmond.

car2go is also scaling back in North Vancouver, doing away with the far-west area of the North Vancouver Home Area.

“This change will allow us to concentrate the vehicles within the Vancouver Home Area for a more robust car2go network, allowing members to find a vehicle more easily when they need to get from Point A to Point B,” says the company.

However, the City of Richmond says the company has confirmed it will maintain locations on Sea Island and at the Kwantlen Richmond campus.

This past summer, car2go announced that the Vancouver area is home to the company’s largest fleet in the world.