CAR SHARING TREND GROWS AS URBAN DWELLERS SEEK INEXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVE TO THE HIGH PRICE OF VEHICLE OWNERSHIP -- PART 6

CAR SHARING TREND GROWS AS URBAN DWELLERS SEEK INEXPENSIVE
ALTERNATIVE TO THE HIGH PRICE OF VEHICLE OWNERSHIP

By Steve Wright

Jim Sebastian, transportation planner for the District of Columbia Department of Transportation, said the District wanted to promote car sharing so much, that it granted 86 valuable on-street spaces for free to Zipcar and Flexcar in 2005.

The District also provided large orange poles to identify the reserved spaces and prepared car sharing brochures. Car sharing has grown so much since – Zipcar merged with Flexcar and has hundreds of private space for cars in D.C. – that now the District is looking at charging a fee for the on-street spaces.

The District of Columbia requires that car sharing companies place cars in each of its eight wards – ensuring that the benefits of car sharing can be accessed by low-, medium- and high-income neighborhoods.

“We understand Zipcar has done well in lower income areas,” Sebastian said. “Car sharing users usually help cut down on traffic congestion because they are paying per trip, they walk and use transit more than driving. Even If you use it every day for an hour a day, car sharing adds up to about $4,000 per year – about half the total price of car ownership, parking and maintenance in an urban area.”

“From our experience, car sharing integrates well with an urban transportation system,” he added. “It works especially well for cities with limited space for parking because there may be 20 members sharing one car versus 20 individual cars on the street.”

TOMORROW: Hertz Connect

Wright frequently writes about Smart Growth and sustainable communities. He recently participated in the prestigious Forum on Land and the Built Environment: The Reinvented City sponsored by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Contact him at: stevewright64@yahoo.com