CAR SHARING TREND GROWS AS URBAN DWELLERS SEEK INEXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVE TO THE HIGH PRICE OF VEHICLE OWNERSHIP -- part 7

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

By Steve Wright


Connect by Hertz is in New York, several college campuses and major cities in Europe. Griff Long, Senior Director Global Carsharing, said Connect by Hertz stared with 40 cars in 10 locations in New York and quickly grew to more than 350 cars in about 100 locations.

“While operating for a little more than one year, we've signed on more than 6,000 members in New York City alone,” Long noted. “We also notice that some members are car owners, but use Connect as a second car, or to simply try out a vehicle they have always wanted to drive, like a Smart Car or Mercedes.”

Connect cars are all equipped with NeverLost-Hertz’s in-car navigation system, an I-Pod adapter as well as an in-car system that provides drivers with the ability to interact with Connect by Hertz representatives.

Long said the average car owner spends at least $700-$800 on payments, insurance, maintenance, parking, gas, etc. per month per car while often driving for only an hour a day.

“Regardless of the location -- urban, suburban, or rural -- the benefits of car sharing are the same. It is an alternative route to owning a car and simply paying for the usage of the car as opposed to all of the expenses that are generally included (in automobile ownership),” Long said. “For those who are conscious of their “carbon footprint”, car sharing is a means to reduce it with eco-friendly cars.”

TOMORROW: car2g0

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