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Time Sharing Cars
timmy_walker writes "This article from the associated press talks about new car time share services from ZipCar and Seattle-based Flexcar, where "Customers make reservations via computer or telephone, and the company uses remote-access systems to control who can use the car when.""
This is much like Autoshare in Toronto, Canada. There are many others as well. A good resource can be found here.
There's a very similar sounding system running in the UK, in London, Edinburgh, Bristol and Brighton. It's run by Smart Moves, and involves cars that are parked in designated spots, booked by phone or web, with access via smartcard. It's been quite polular here in Bristol, by all accounts, and many new housing developments are including car club spaces in their plans.
More convenient than a car? Maybe in some cities, but certainly not all. There are a lot of areas in my city that would require several transfers and a lot of time to get to by public transport. So assuming the car was in a resonable location relative to my starting point/home, this could be ideal.
sure. when it is. i normally take the bus in seattle or walk. but on the odd occasion that i need to drive out to the burbs to buy something or visit friends i can without having to deal with a cab. they only charge me when i use it, which is rarely. its nice to have the option.
my only complaint is that the stupid web site only deals with ie, so i'm stuck using the fairly painful phone menu.
In Ottawa they have a very successful car sharing program. Have a look at their website: http://www.vrtucar.com/ They are mostly using Ford Focuses and I think they even have a mini-van for share. I believe it is a great idea in any urban area. Insurance rates are pretty costly in the area.
Smoking/Pets Fee: Fee for smoking in a vehicle or carrying pets without a pet carrier is $200.
Cleaning Fee: Emergency vehicle cleaning (interior not ready for next member) is $200 plus costs.
etc.
I haven't used it, but I have a good friend who uses Flexcar here in Seattle.
According to her, it's not a "dream solution." There has been a time or two when the car in the spot closest to her apartment hasn't been available on short notice, etc. etc. But Flexcar did ultimately make it possible for her to make the leap to get rid of her personal car altogether. She lives and works downtown and uses the bus system, but was holding on to her car for that one-Saturday-a-month when she would make the big grocery store run, do the miscellaneous errands that took her to other parts of the city, and/or pick up something too big to carry alone on a bus.
Without Flexcar, she would have had to meet the expense of keeping the car around for those odd occasions, as Seattle is not quite ready for most young professional types to live by public transportation alone, a la New York City.
Hmmm.. very interesting incentives:
Other Fees/Credits
General Membership Fee:
All plans require an annual fee and selection of a rate plan. Members may change rate plans before the last day of the month at no charge.
Reservation Cancellation Fee:
Reservations may begin and/or end on the hour or half-hour. No charge for cancellation if reservation is cancelled within one hour of making reservation or more than 8 hours before scheduled use. Otherwise member will be charged rates for all hours reserved less any hours used by another member.
Premium Class Vehicle Fee:
Premium vehicles, denoted on the Website, are $2 more/hour. Fee waived for Advantage 100 Plan members.
Late Return Fee:
If a vehicle is returned late you will be charged a $20 fee plus incurred costs (up to $100). Late fee is waived if Flexcar is notified in advance of late return (other fees may still apply, i.e., cab fare).
Inconvenience Fee:
Member will be charged $75 plus costs for inconveniencing other members (no fuel, no ignition key, car not parked in Flexcar spot, etc.).
Damage Fee:
Member is responsible for the first $500 of $1,000 deductible for any damage to the vehicles. If you do not report damage you may be held responsible for the first $750 of the $1,000 deductible. Insurance policy information is available at each Flexcar office.
Smoking/Pets Fee:
Fee for smoking in a vehicle or carrying pets without a pet carrier is $200.
Cleaning Fee:
Emergency vehicle cleaning (interior not ready for next member) is $200 plus costs.
Ignition Key Replacement Fee:
Vehicle ignition key replacement fee is $75/hour plus materials.
Remote Unlocking Fee:
Remote unlocking of Flexcar vehicle is $15.
Keycard Replacement Fee:
Members will be charged $15 for a new Flexcar KeyCard.
Parking Tickets:
Member is responsible for all parking tickets during trip. Investigation, resolution of parking, towing, tickets, etc. is $20/hour plus costs.
Vehicle Washing Credit:
Members earn a $5 credit plus reimbursement (up to $12 total) for washing vehicle (receipt required).
Gasoline Credit:
Members receive a $2 credit for refueling (required if tank is at ¼ or less upon return of the vehicle).
Referral Credit:
Members who refer new members receive a $20 credit per new member.
You are accountable because someone is always going to be using the car after you. If I find that the car is filthy or been puked in or whatever, I call the vendor and they pinch the guy who rented the car before me. Zipcar members are typically renting the car for short 2 hour errands. The pricing discourages long trips, and so discourages candy wrappers, puking, etc. that long trips entail. Zipcar (which I was a member of until I bought my own car) had someone who maintained the car. Zipcar worked pretty well for me, although the cars were difficult to reserve on the weekend. The car was always in pretty good shape and fairly clean. The biggest problem for me was that the guy in front of me would invariably be late in returning the car. I had to wait 45 minutes one time.
I live in Cambridge, MA, and I used ZipCar for about three years. When I came to Boston from Kentucky, the first thing I noticed was that driving here really sucks. Besides that, I worked in the Back Bay neighborhood, and parking near work was $400 a month. Luckily, Boston has an excellent public transportation system, so for about $60 a month, I got a subway/bus pass. At that point, I realized that I was only driving two Saturdays a month. So, these two Saturdays were costing me $450 a month ($350 car payment & $100 a month insurance). It was officially cheaper to rent a car for those two days. So I got rid of my car.
This was two years before ZipCar came into existance. Renting a car from a traditional rental agency involves going to the agency during their working hours, standing in line (frequently 1/2 hour), filling out paperwork, and returning the car during working hours. It makes no sense to rent the car for less than a day. Thus when ZipCar started up, and the booking time became 5 minutes at home and you could book for a couple hours, it was huge.
It was only when I moved to the far west side of Cambridge, where it's easier to find a parking space near the house and there aren't 7 ZipCars within walking distance (in fact there isn't even 1) that I decided it was time to get a new car.
From a geek standpoint, the system is extremely cool. The company issues you a card key associated with your account. You reserve the car on-line. A cell based system in the car is alerted to let the car know when you've rented it. During your rental time your card key unlocks the doors and the ignition. You can continue to drive if you go past the quiting time, but they charge you $25 for being late. In Boston, you're always late because of traffic, so it's cheaper just to rent the car for 1/2 hour or hour more than you think you'll need it.
So in answer to some of the questions I've seen:
(1) Why don't you just take public transportation? I did 95% of the time.
(2) Is it reliable? Yes. The $25 late fee seems to insure that the car is back on time. I never had to wait for the car to be returned.
(3) Is it dirty? No. There is a $50 charge for trashing the car.
(4) Is it wrecked? For whatever reason, the cars had very few dings. If the car is in a serious accident, it is taken out of commission. The company contacts the current renters and rebooks them to different cars.
(5) Who does the maintenance / washes the cars? The company does. If you want to wash the car yourself, the company reimburses you.
(6) Does it make sense in every town? No, only in very dense cities that have good public transportation.
(7) Isn't it expensive? Not compared to the price of owning a car in a big city.
(8) Is it convenient? Yes. In Boston / Cambridge there are a ton of cars. Until I moved far enough away from the central part of the city, it was pretty easy to find a car near my home or work free at any given time (except holiday weekends).
(9) Will it impress a woman? No, but she lives in the city, too. Meet her at a coffee shop and then take her to a nice restaurant.
I know I'm jumping in a little late here, but if anyone has any technical questions about the service (I work for Zipcar here in Boston), I'd be happy to take a shot at them.