“ashtray-2-go?”

“Dear PoPville,

Like many DC residents, Car2Go is a convenient option for me when it’s too wet to bike, or when my wife is out of town with our car on weekends and I need to get around. But lately, I’m loathe to use it, as I find that the Mercedes Benz cars (which are often the only cars available in my neighborhood) sometimes reek of cigarette smoke and frequently have actual ashes and/or butts in the ashtray. (See picture below taken this very morning.) For some unimaginable reason, these cars, which are of course meant to be shared, have functioning ashtrays and, again for some unimaginable reason, totally lack visible “no smoking” signs.

I wonder whether other Car2Go members among your readership have had similar experiences with the Mercedes Benzs and, if so, what they’ve done about it. Whenever I’ve called Car2Go to complain, they give me a nominal credit but don’t seem to take the issue very seriously, despite the health hazards of cigarette smoke (not to mention the disgust experienced by members who, like me, find the smell of smoke and ash nauseating). Taking the issue seriously might include installing “no smoking” stickers and gluing the ashtrays shut — steps that don’t seem unreasonable or prohibitively expensive for a 165 billion euro company.”