Car2Go considers bike rack pilot program in Portland
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor) on November 4th, 2014 at 9:45 am
to far-away trails.
(Photo: Car2go)
International car-sharing service Car2go has announced that Portland will be its testing ground for bike racks on their vehicles. In an email statement to Portland-area members, the company said the move comes after numerous requests from customers.
Here’s a snip from the announcement:
“Since our launch in Portland back in 2012, we’ve consistently heard one specific request from our valued members – installing bike racks. As bicycling is such an integral part of daily life here in Portland, it’s no surprise that we’ve been very eager to find a solution that incorporates bike racks onto our blue and white car2go vehicles, allowing our members, who love bicycling all the same, to combine the two transportation options in a simple, safe, and durable way.”
Car2go is “exploring” the new program for its Portland members, but there is a caveat. The new bike rack would prevent the tailgate from opening. With that in mind, they have released a survey to gather feedback before moving forward with a larger test of the program.
“If we find that our pilot program is successful here in Portland,” the announcement says, “we’ll look into outfitting more of our fleet in select cities nationwide.” (Car2go currently operates over 12,000 vehicles in 31 cities worldwide.)
When we reported on one man’s solution to carrying bikes on Car2go vehicles — the “Free2go” rack that failed to meet its crowdfunding goal — Car2go was opposed to the idea. A spokesperson for the company said that use of a third-party bike rack would violate Car2go’s terms of service and could result in a lost membership.
Car2go says they plan to review survey feedback and be in touch with members about next steps.
Take the survey here.
Jonathan Maus is BikePortland’s editor, publisher and founder. Contact him at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, Jonathan hopes you’ll consider becoming a supporter.
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