A major player in the global car sharing service, Share Now, has just announced they will be ceasing operations across North America in the new year.
Share Now will exit the North American market and cease operations in London, Brussels and Florence, effective February 29, 2020.
Vancouver car share users may be more familiar with the brand's previous name, Car2go. The rebrand came just this year for the German-based business in their merger with DriveNow.
As of July 2019, Car2go had been the world's largest car share operator.
In their Dec. 18 statement, Share Now explains why they are pulling the plug in several cities:
"The decision to close North America was made based on two extremely complicated realities. The first being the volatile state of the global mobility landscape, and the second being the rising infrastructure complexities facing North American transportation today - such as a rapidly evolving competitive mobility landscape, the lack of necessary infrastructure to support new technology (including electric vehicle car share) and rising operating costs."
Share Now says they will focus on the remaining 18 cities they serve.
In addition to Vancouver, Share Now operated in Canada in Montreal. In the U.S. they served Chicago, New York City, Seattle, and Washington.
