Tel Aviv car-sharing service to hit the road in 2017
Car2Go set to become the ‘Tel-O-Fun’ for drivers; Huldai: We can create a new, shared transportation culture.
By MICHELLE MALKA GROSSMANUpdated: APRIL 8, 2016 02:00TEL AVIV Mayor Ron Huldai takes a Car2Go car for a spin.(photo credit: ISRAEL MALOVNY/TEL AVIV MUNICIPALITY)
Car rental by the hour in Tel Aviv will begin in 2017.At a city management meeting earlier this week, plans were approved for the country’s first municipal car-sharing service, to hit the road by next summer.In the Car2Go project’s initial stage, 260 subcompact- class vehicles will be available for a minimum of one hour to licensed drivers who possesses a valid credit card.Six hundred parking spots across the city will be reserved for the rental vehicles.Renters will be able to drop off their vehicle at any available designated spot.Parking without additional payment may be allowed at legal parking spots, designated with blue and white stripes painted on sidewalks, subject to a municipal council vote.The municipality said the Car2Go short-term car rental project complemented its popular Tel-O-Fun bike rental service, started in 2011, that has encouraged bicycle usage in Tel Aviv.That project has been extended to cities surrounding Tel Aviv.A municipal statement explains the short-term car rental initiative aims to “make it possibly for the city’s residents and visitors to give up the need for a private vehicle completely.”The municipality hopes Car2Go will reduce traffic congestion and air pollution, as well as the cost of living. Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said Israel needs to improve public transportation, and that his city is providing alternatives to private car ownership.
“It’s possible to change the rules and create a new, shared transportation culture,” Huldai said, referring to Tel-O-Fun.He expressed his hope that the Transportation Ministry will expand the short-term car rental program across the country.