Go Car

How did I ever manage without Go Car before? Oh yeah, I had my own car. Which I paid tax and insurance on, which I tipped money into for fuel, which I had to put through the NCT twice, which for all I put into it, sat outside my house half the time accumulating dust, and as luck would have it in the end, attracted attention for a little gang of joyriders who would ultimately bring it to it’s untimely end. I was sad at the time. But more for the poor little car than me. It had first been neglected and then been abused to the highest level. But now I was free. I bought a bike, and cycled everywhere. Turns out I don’t need a car living in the city! But hang on, I do. What about when it’s raining outside and I need to go do my weekly food shop? Or when I need to go to IKEA and spend loads of money on loads of stuff I don’t need? I can’t cycle then. Enter Go Car. You pay 45 eurits to register and get your card, and from then on, whenever you need it, it’s there. All you need to do is find your nearest depot (which actually just means a parking area), book in your car, swipe your card on the windscreen, and away you go. You can pay per 15 min block, so you can have it for as little or long as you like. You pay a combination of time and distance, but I find it unequivocally works out cheaper than a taxi and is so much handier when you just want to be driving around on your own time. It’s not super cheap now, but for hassle factor, it’s definitely worth it. It’s also worth pointing out that you can park for free anywhere in the city with it, so that saves more money again.
My only niggle with it would be that you have to drop the car back the same place you picked it up. So, though they say that it’s the same model as Dublin Bikes, it’s not really. It would be great to be able to drop it off at any depot as well, but perhaps when they get bigger and more well known, that’s something they can work on.