“Dear PoPville,
They smell like weed. They’re full of trash and pet hair. And ever since Car2Go/ShareNow left North America during the pandemic, they also have no competition. Yes, readers, the French-owned awkwardness known as Free2Move is now pretty much DC’s only workable car sharing option. Oh sure, Zipcars exist, but they don’t touch the convenience of leaving a Free2Move in any legal space. And don’t get me started on Turo, which sounds like a great way to get into a lawsuit with the stranger who owns the car. What we need are robust competitors. Here are just some of the quirks that make Free2Move so challenging:
1. Ending on the app can be damn near impossible. It glitches when it’s cloudy, when the wind blows, and when it feels like it. This seems deliberate.
2. You can’t fill the tank, because Free2Move only refunds the first $25. Most learn the hard way. Because they won’t pay for more, cars are often left on fumes, although they claim to refill.
3. Forgot to end your trip? They will leave it running and charge you endlessly. Car2Go ended the rental and locked the car for you after 20 minutes if you walked away without putting it in park mode.
4. Sometimes cars are on the app but not on the street. Ghosts! Super fun when you’re in a hurry.
So why do I put up with this nonsense and more? Because carsharing in DC is wildly convenient, and back when there was competition it was plentiful and cheaper than Uber or Lyft (which I also use). In that vein, Via was heaven, with better prices for shared rides and giving drivers more $$, but alas it left in the pandemic, too. So although I’d love to quit Free2Move, it’s like having a troubled-but-sexy partner: I just keep coming back. Please, if you run a carshare company and you’re out there reading this, consider DC!”