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

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

By Steve Wright

Car sharing is rapidly growing in the United States as way of reducing the high cost of buying, insuring, garaging and maintaining a car.

Car-sharing is a service that provides members with access to a fleet of vehicles on an hourly basis. Members reserve a car online or by phone, walk to the nearest parking space, open the doors with an electronic key card, and drive off.

They are billed by the hour or by a combination of hourly rate plus mileage. Car sharing can substitute for car ownership, especially for those who can commute to work and shopping by taking transit, walking or bicycling. At the workplace, it provides access to a vehicle for business use and personal errands during the day, allowing employees to avoid driving to work – which in turn reduces traffic congestion.

Zipcar is by far the nation’s largest for-profit car sharing service. Since 2004, Zipcar has experienced 100%+ growth annually in its membership base. In a difficult economy, car sharing is on the rise; more than 10,000 new members join Zipcar's service each month.

Unlike rental cars that also come with lots of extra charges, car sharing is all-inclusive. Zipcar’s rates start at $6 per hour and include gas, parking, insurance and maintenance. Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models of self‐service vehicles by the hour or day to its 350,000 members. It has 6,000 cars located in urban areas and college campuses throughout 28 North American states and provinces.

Car sharing has become so popular that auto giants Hertz, Enterprise, U-Haul and Daimler have jumped into the business alongside other successful nonprofit car sharing organizations in several major cities.

TOMORROW: PhillyCarShare

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