One of the State’s leading car-sharing operators says it has been forced to reduce its services in Limerick after months of anti-social behaviour targeting its vehicles in the city.
GoCar, which is owned by French car rental group Europcar, allows users to rent cars for short periods of time, with fees starting from €9 an hour.
It has proved popular with Irish motorists over recent years with many using it and similar car-sharing services as an alternative to owning a car.
The company has invested heavily in its service over the last decade and has expanded its nationwide fleet to more than 1,000 since it first arrived in Ireland in 2008.
‘A hand slap to America’s face’: Iran’s Supreme Leader makes first public appearance since US bombs
Irishman Morgan McSweeney: the softly-spoken chief of staff to Keir Starmer now facing questions
Second big payday for Barry Connolly of Irish-founded Fulfil as Hershey buys him out in North America
Malachy Clerkin: Mayo’s decision to oust Kevin McStay was fair enough but the way they did it was foul
It expanded into Limerick in 2017 and has widened its service there in recent years, with 10 stations dotted around the city at one point.
However, in a statement sent to its members this week, the company said it had been left with no option but to curtail service in the city,
As of Wednesday afternoon, there were only four GoCar locations around the city offering short-term rental cars.
The company said it was “proud to be a part of the Limerick community” and said it valued the support of people who use the service in the city.
“We’ve worked hard to continue providing a reliable service, because we know how important it is to your daily life,” the company said.
“Unfortunately, months of persistent incidents of antisocial behaviour have caused constant significant damage to our vehicles and placed an unsustainable strain on our operations.”
The statement added that “as a result, we’ve had to make the very difficult decision to temporarily reduce the number of GoCars available in Limerick.”
GoCar said it was aware the move would cause disruption to those that use its cars correctly and it apologised to those who would be impacted by the curtailment.
“Please rest assured that this is not a decision we’ve taken lightly,” the statement continued, adding that the company was “working closely with local authorities and An Garda Siochana to address the issues and are doing everything we can to restore full service as soon as possible.”
