RE:Zipcar/eugene

[Nicholas Chase]

I signed up for WeCar today and I'm not a student or faculty. I was told it's because I live at 16th and Alder. I'm not that impressed with their rates either but it's more convenient than renting a car and could be cheaper than a round trip in a taxi.
Anyways, we have in our midst a man who started up a successful nonprofit carshare, not a miserable failure like the one the last writer experienced. If a reliable, local solution were developed it would be preferable and more affordable to enticing a large corporation. I think such an entity could give more people a sense of security which would make it easier to go car-free, and we know it won't be as expensive as the current (bad) solutions. So what do we do to get this idea off the ground, o wise Canadian?

[Branden Rishel]

Sorry for the delay in reply---I missed this message. To be clear, I
helped run the successful Victoria Car Share, but I can not yet claim
to have started a successful car share. Also, I'm not actually
Canadian, I just lived there for a few years, eh?

How to get started? Once enough members are using it, a car share
vehicle can easily pay for its own maintenance, insurance,
replacement, and its share of other organizational costs. So there's
a chicken-and-egg problem, where a new vehicle must be subsidized
until it acquires enough regular use. Without going into debt, this
subsidy can be provided by a grant of funds/vehicles or it can be
avoided through a sufficient initial membership commitment (eg a large
employer buys 30 memberships). I'm exploring both options, starting
with meeting Mayor Piercy tomorrow afternoon and upcoming meetings
with the Manager of Eugene Transportation Planning Rob Inerfeld and
LTD Manager Mark Pangborn.

I don't feel that WeCar or Zipcar are a reason not to form a local not-
for-profit car share. Multiple providers will raise public awareness
of car sharing and encourage more people to give up car ownership.
The not-for-profit car share in Vancouver BC has grown and thrived
since Zipcar arrived there.

Here's how to help:

Tell your friends about car sharing---tell them that car sharing is
the best way to get people to give up private vehicle ownership and
walk/bike/bus/carpool more.

Visit eugenecarshare.com, sign up for the discussion group and become
a fan of the Facebook page to stay informed on progress. I'm looking
forward to holding monthly public information meetings in a month or
two, which I'll announce on those sites.

Write a quick note of endorsement of the general idea of car sharing
or of this particular project. Send it to an elected official, rich
friend, or other important person. If you know of any good
opportunities for state/federal grants, please tell me. Ideas
welcome.

Branden Rishel