Car2Go Calgary 2012-2019

Remember Car2Go Calgary, the vehicle sharing service that was set to revolutionize urban transportation here in the city in 2012? No? Even though they haven’t been gone for long (since 2019), it appears they’ve become a footnote in the collective minds of people in and around Cowtown. Does anyone remember? They still have a presence in Europe (operating as Share Now), but pulled out of North America in a manner that suggested they were losing their shirts.

It started with much hoopla and they seems to do good for a number of years, but then out of the blue, shut down here in the city.

Here’s a gathering of their Smart Cars in spring 2012, awaiting the July launch of the service. Random find while out for a walk. They eventually accumulated upwards of hundreds of these Fortwos and while perfect for tight inner-city spaces, must have been a terror out on Deerfoot. That’s the realm of a F350 monster truck and no place for something so tiny and pop-can like.

We wonder what happened to the Calgary fleet once the service shut down. It’s not like this type of vehicle would be in demand in the used market out here in car-centric Alberta, where only size matters. Especially given they’re used and likely bag-driven like most loaner/rental cars. Shipped off to somewhere else? Dumped in the Shepard landfill? Chopped down and made into golf carts? Who knows…

Random awesomeness…
Great Beater Challenge 2021 (the anti-Smart Car crowd), Ranchman’s Cookhouse & Dancehall (never a Smart Car seen in this parking lot) and Nelson and Fort Sheppard in Under a Minute (faster than any Fourtwo).

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Date of adventure: Early, 2012.
Location: Calgary, Alberta.

Car2Go Smart Cars prior to launch day 2012.