As our big-sibling site EcoGeek reported, Paris will launch a new city-wide car sharing service by the end of 2009. As Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë announced last week, Autolib will feature 4,000 electric cars available for rent.
Autolib will operate in a manner very similar to Paris’ wildly popular bike-sharing program, Vélib. The electric vehicles will be available for check out and return at 700 locations throughout the city. Car-renters can reserve vehicles online and book a return destination, where they can be recharged and prepped for the next customer.
The service costs about $390 per month – but that covers all operating and maintenance costs (fuel, parking, upkeep, etc.) for the vehicles. That base price covers a maximum of 60 miles per day.
We’re big fans of car-sharing programs as helping hands towards a partial carectomy. Most people’s cars spend the majority of their lives parked and wasting space. Car-sharing enables dozens of people to share one efficient vehicle as needed.
For many of us, there are occasional load-intensive ventures that are easier by car. Car-sharing programs offer a great, green solution. Electric vehicles make a good thing better by increasing efficiency and decreasing emissions. For shorter around-town jaunts, the limited range of an electric vehicle isn’t an issue.
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Being from Raleigh, I can say that the general consensus here is that any transit will need to be paid ourselves. There is talk of a sales tax to help make this happen.
Yes, people support rail in NC. I’m not sure if this poll answers the question do people support rail if we raised taxes? Personally I am all for it, but the results of the poll may be entirely different if asked this way. It is also stated in the link that respondents oppose raising fees or adding tolls, so I’m not to confident in people backing rail funding
took a train from charlotte to salisbury few months back. One-way ticket was $8 and the ride was on time and quite pleasant. One way trip in a car would cost at least that much if not more, esp with gas prices the way they are these days.
Not so surprising when you realize that North Carolina is the only Southern state to subsidize Amtrak intercity rail service within their state. Here, “Southern” = fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, and “intercity” = not commuter.
We are basically without public/mass transit in the New Bern/ Morehead City area. The beach would be a lucrative transportation venture for a light rail system, since the Greyhound/ Trailways bus dropped their route.