Daimler Brings Smart Car Sharing to Austin

Daimler’s Car2Go program, which it launched in Germany last week, may come stateside — to Austin, Texas, no less, where they like to keep it weird. The company plans on bringing 200 Smart ForTwos to the Texas town and making them available to subscribers 24-7.

Cars can be prebooked or used on-the-spot, if it’s not already spoken for. Car2Go members use a smart card and PIN to access the cars, then pay about 25 cents a minute to tool about town, which includes gas. Hourly and day rates are available too, according to a post in the New York Times’ Wheels blog.

Austin city employees will get first crack at the system this fall.

Image of the Smart ForTwo at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show by Kristen Hall-Geisler.