German car rental company car2go announced that it will no longer operate in Toronto as of May 31st, 2018.
Car2go customers will still be able to use the service through May 31st, but the company said that fewer vehicles may be available as the date approaches.
In a May 24th, 2018 media release, car2go said that the decision to cease its operation is a result of a free-floating car-sharing pilot project passed by Toronto City Council on April 27th, 2018.
“Unfortunately, the pilot they decided to pass is so heavily amended and restrictive that it makes the continuation of car2go service in Toronto inoperable,” reads an excerpt from the same May 24th, release.”
“It is clear to us that Torontonians love free-float car-share, but the City has not established a legal framework that supports globally accepted car-share services like car2go.”
As per the City’s new pilot project, car-share services participating in the pilot need to pay $1,499.02 CAD per vehicle.
Additionally, car2go estimates that approximately 10,000 parking spaces used by the company would be forbidden under the City’s pilot project rules.
“In fact, approximately 50 percent of all trips Torontonian car2go members take everyday would no longer be possible as a result of the heavy street restrictions taking effect once the pilot begins June 1st,” reads another excerpt.
While Torontonians will no longer be able to use car2go’s service on May 31st, they’ll still be able to use their memberships to use car2go vehicles in other Canadian and U.S. cities.
Source: car2go
