Weaning one’s way from car-land is no easy task. Driving a car has become ingrained in the way many of us live, and is an integral part of the society we have created. Schlepping to a box-store without a car, or playing suburbanite soccer mom without a mini-van are not easy tasks.
Cars are great for carrying lots of stuff from point A to point B – they’re just not very practical for day-to-day personal transportation. One way to decrease car-usage is to participate in a car-sharing program. Although the specifics vary, users typically pay an upfront annual membership fee and either pay as they go by the hour or by the day, or buy a block of car-time for the year. Cars are typically reserved online, with hourly rates between $3 and $10. Rates include gas, vehicle upkeep and insurance. Many companies tend toward the greener car offerings, with hybrids common.
The biggest immediate advantage to the user is financial. From SmartMoney Magazine:
The average American household spends 18% of its expenditures on owning and operating their cars, according to the Bureau of Transportation. Plenty of car owners, especially in urban areas where public transportation is readily available, don’t even use their vehicles enough to warrant the monthly insurance payments, let alone the cost and effort involved in upkeep like oil changes, replacing the air filter or buying new tires.
These savings don’t even address some of the more “hidden costs” of the vehicle-centered life and society: subsidized “free” parking, deteriorating environment, and unhealthy, sedentary individuals. Fewer cars means less traffic, less pollution, and less resource consumption (both in building more cars and the gas they burn). It also results in less pavement, and less public space consumed when these damned things are just sitting around, parked on the street or in a lot. Innovative Mobility Research estimates a ratio of 37 users per car among U.S. car-sharing companies.
While car-sharing’s benefits for city residents (where public transportation, walking, and biking are viable) are apparent, it can also help suburban and more rural dwellers reduce their car usage. Multi-car families might be able to survive with one less automobile and to fill in the gaps with a car-share.
Zipcar and Flexcar (recently merged into one) are the two biggest U.S. car share companies. As SmartMoney magazine reports, there are also several local enterprises springing up to offer similar services, like Philadelphia’s Philly CarShare, Madison, Wis.’s Community Car, Chicago’s I-GO and Austin CarShare. Even U-Haul is getting in on the action with their U Car Share, offering 160 PT Cruisers in 11 cities.
Ride sharing is another method to reduce car usage. It’s kind of like a mixture between carpooling, organized hitchhiking, and facebook. Blog entry coming soon!
Photo via flickr by j.towbin
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Here’s a Big City Plan – Birmingham City Council leader, Mike Whitby to cycle to work. Even just once would be a good gesture especially with elections coming up. I reckon he lives 3 to 4 miles from his office so it shouldn’t be a problem. I will personally accompany him if required which would add probably 8 miles to my 6 mile daily commute (each way). How about it Mike DOT Whitby AT Birmingham.gov.uk ?
Birmingham has a Cycle Strategy out for comments at http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cycling
Birmingham has the lowest rate of cycling of any city in Europe, apparently.
Birmingham is proposing the world’s only Eco Town with a car factory in the middle, at Longbridge.
I’m not sure whether to laugh, cry or leave.