Car Sharing Pros

[phantom power]

More Carsharing

I pay the $15/month, so this change isn't going to impact me. But to respond to people who wonder why anyone bothers with carsharing instead of just using rental cars, a bunch of reasons:

1) Renting cars downtown is generally a bit more expensive than other places.

2) If you don't have a car and car insurance, renting a car is even more expensive because you need to add on liability insurance.

3) Quite often you just don't need a car for an entire day! Just want to run an errand that takes 90 minutes.

4) Using carshare is easy and takes zero time. Click on the online reservation system, then go get your car. No paperwork, no dealing with humans, no inspecting the car, no need to always return with full tank, etc. Transaction cost/time almost nonexistent.

5) Cars are much more conveniently located than rental companies. Cars are placed in neighborhoods either on designated on-street spots, in reserved spot in municipal or private parking lots, or sometimes in private household spots that people have provided to the organization. There are probably 30 vehicles, including vans and pickup trucks good for hauling, within a 10 minute walk from me.

6) Even if you want a car for a whole day, daily rates (which regularly change depending on the mood of the organization), are just about competitive with rental car companies, depending on what kind of specials they're offering.

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2009/04/more-carsharing.html