CAR SHARING TREND GROWS AS URBAN DWELLERS SEEK INEXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVE TO THE HIGH PRICE OF VEHICLE OWNERSHIP -- part 9

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

By Steve Wright

Zipcar members report spending on average, about six percent of income on transportation, compared to the US average of 19 percent, said Zipcar spokesman John Williams.
“For anyone looking to decrease monthly expenses, Zipcar represents a great option,” said Williams, who said many customers write to the company to praise the money it saved them. “A family in Seattle wrote to us to let us know that thanks to Zipcar, the family sold their second car and due to those the savings the wife was able to cut back her hours to part time so that she could spend more time with their infant. To be able to directly affect the quality of that family’s life is very powerful.”

Zipcar is most successful working in tandem with other transportation and infrastructure providers, Williams explained, noting the company partners across the “value chain” with bike clubs, ridesharing organizations, government agencies, parking facilities, transit authorities and more.

“We know that Zipcar’s vision is a world where there are more car sharers than car owners in major cities around the world,” he said. “Will that be true in a decade? We hope so!”

TOMORROW: CAR SHARING RESOURCES
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