1

P L A N N I N G C O M M I S S I O N E R S J O U R N A L / N U M B E R 7 0 / S P R I N G 2 0 0 8

F E AT U R E

Ready for Car Sharing?KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS

by Hannah TwaddellWhat would you do if some-one offered you, in exchange foryour car, access to a pay-by-the-hour car anytime you wanted it? What could you do with all that moneyyou’re spending on car loan payments,insurance, gas, maintenance, and park-ing? What could your community dowith the land for parking spaces androadway lanes required to support yourneed to drive your own car everywhere?It’s worth considering.

WHAT IS CAR SHARING?

Car sharing is a service that providesmembers with access to a fleet of vehicleson an hourly basis. Members reserve acar online or by phone, then walk or taketransit to the parking space where thenearest car is located. In most programs,members are provided with an electronickey card that opens the car door. Typical-ly, members are billed monthly for timeand/or mileage.

The precursor of today’s car sharingprograms can apparently be traced backto a car sharing arrangement developedby a Zurich, Switzerland, housing coop-erative in the late 1940s. But the kind ofcar sharing programs I’ll be discussinghave their roots in European programs ofthe late 1980s and early 90s, such asMobility Switzerland, one of the world’slargest car sharing operations – with afleet of 1,950 cars in some 1,050 loca-tions, and more than 73,000 members.1

American car sharing began in Port-land, Oregon, in 1998. Over the past tenyears, car sharing has taken off, with esti-mates of some 250,000 car share userstoday in the U.S. and Canada.2

Car sharing is usually run by eitherfor-profit operators, such as Zipcar; or bynon-profit groups such as San Francisco’sCity CarShare, Philly CarShare, or

• Unattended or self-accessing. Membersreserve a car online or by telephone,open the doors with their own electronickey, and return the car without ever deal-ing with anyone else.• Turnkey (pun intended) service. Carsharing services include fuel, mainte-nance, insurance, and reserved parkingat the pod. This saves members moneyand allows them to “out-source” thechores of ownership.

WHAT DIFFERENCECAN CAR SHARING MAKE?

Perhaps the most obvious incentivefor prospective car-sharers is the costsavings they can realize by giving uptheir car. AAA data from 2006 indicatesthe average annual cost Americans faceto own and operate a passenger vehicle at$7,834 – and that was based on$2.405/gallon gas prices, a distant mem-ory today.4

Car sharing programs offer a numberof benefits to communities as a whole, allstemming from the fact that car sharersdrive less often and own fewer cars.According to Zipcar’s Kristina Kennedy,“forty percent of Zipcar’s members reportselling a car or changing/postponing apurchasing decision.” With its 180,000members, this obviously has a significantimpact on the number of vehicles on theroad. As Kennedy points out, Zipcar’s5,500 car fleet has, in effect, substitutedfor roughly 72,000 cars sold or not

1 See Mobility Switzerland’s July 20, 2007 pressrelease, “Around 73,600 people now drive the intelli-gent way,” available at: <www.mobility.ch>. For thoseinterested in a more detailed history of car sharing seeSusan Shaheen, et al, “Carsharing in Europe andNorth America: Past, Present, and Future,” Trans-portation Quarterly, Vol. 52, No. 3 (1998).

2 Estimate provided by Susan Shaheen (email corre-spondence of Mar. 7, 2008) from Shaheen & AdamCohen, “Innovative Mobility Research,” University ofCalifornia, Berkeley (unpublished research data,March 2008).

3 Bringing Car-Sharing to Your Community (City Car-Share, San Francisco); available online at:<www.citycarshare.org/download/CCS_BCCtYC_Short.pdf>.

4 In a March 28, 2006 news release AAA summarizedhow it arrived at its estimated national average$7,834. It was based on 15,000 miles driven, at anaverage cost of 52.2 cents per mile. The principalcomponents included: average annual car deprecia-tion of $3,392; routine maintenance of $552; annualfinance charges of $716; licensing, registration andother taxes of $535; and fuel costs of $1,425 (again,based on 15,000 miles and $2.405 per gallon gasprices). AAA’s 2007 figures are comparable and can bedownloaded at: <www.aaapublicaffairs.com> (useEnergy/Gas Prices link). Note that parking – a majorexpense for many drivers – is not included in AAA’scost calculations.

I-GO spaces in Chicago’s “Bucktown” neighborhood.

W. S

EN

VIL

LE

Chicago’s I-GO. According to a guidefrom City CarShare,3 regardless of size ororganizational structure, the essentialfeatures of most car sharing programs,include:• Short-term use. Car sharing charges bythe hour, and/or the mile as well, makingshort trips cost-effective.• Neighborhood-based, distributed vehiclelocations. Car sharing operators place“pods” or points of departure of one to(usually) three or four vehicles at loca-tions all around a city, ensuring they arewithin an easy walk of as many people aspossible. The cars have reserved spacesin parking garages, on the street, or attransit stations.

2

Planning for Car Sharingby PCJ Editor Wayne Senville

Arlington County, Virginia, lies acrossthe Potomac from Washington, D.C.Local officials and planners haveembraced car sharing as part of theiroverall strategy for reducing road conges-tion and decreasing pollution.

Currently, some 3,700 Arlingtoniansmake use of 77 vehicles in the car shareprogram, which is a joint effort of Zipcarand the County. According to PaulDeMaio, the county’s car sharing programmanager, “We have an informal agree-ment with Zipcar. The County providesfree on-street parking spaces and market-ing assistance and Zipcar provides theirservices to Arlingtonians and folks whowork and visit.”

Planners elsewhere might also find ofinterest the fact that Arlington Countyhas incorporated car sharing into its siteplan review process. Major projects arerequired to provide parking spaces for carsharing, based on a ratio of about one car share space per 100,000 square feet ofgross floor area. To date, 12 develop-ments have contributed a total of 30spaces.

John Durham, manager of the Coun-ty’s Transportation Demand ManagementProgram, has found that car sharing“works best for the car share company inmixed use developments with equaloffice and residential components.” Thismix helps maximize the use of the carshares, with demand generated duringboth daytime and evening hours, andover the weekend.

When asked how developers haveviewed the car share space requirement,Durham acknowledged some initial resis-tance because “the parking spaces costmoney to build and they want to makemoney off them.” But Durham notes thatdevelopers have been “advertising thecars as amenities to the lessees.”

Currently, the County requires thesespaces be provided to the car share com-pany at no cost, though Durham notesthat it may be best “to require that the carbe placed for a limited period of time (sixmonths to a year) at the developer’s costto create a market, then allow the devel-oper to charge [the car share company]market rate for the space.”

oil-enriched rainwater into the soil. Sincecar sharing reduces the number of cars,this should also reduce the number ofparking spaces needed.

Similarly, car sharing can make itmore realistic for cities to consider lowerparking minimums for residential devel-opments – especially if they provide carsharing spots.

Building fewer parking spaces, inturn, can yield big savings in housingand development costs. Todd Littman,Director of the Victoria Transport PolicyInstitute, for example, reports that a sur-face parking space costs roughly $1,600to $1,800 to construct, with much higherper space costs for structured parking.8

• Higher rates of transit, walking, andcycling. Philly CarShare has found that34 percent of its members have increasedtheir transit use, while 40 percent saythey are walking more. Chicago’s I-GOprogram has reported similar resultsfrom its member surveys. What accountsfor this? In large part it’s the result of carshare members seeking to minimize theircar share costs. Remember, car sharingprograms typically charge a per-hour feefor use of the car. Also, as mentioned, forshort trips within walking distance, andfor daily commutes to work, use of a carsharing vehicle rarely makes sense.

purchased by its members.5

The 8,000 members of Chicago’s non-profit I-GO car sharing program havemade comparable choices. As I-GO CEOSharon Feigon told us, “forty six percentof our members either sell a car or post-pone a decision to buy one as a result ofthe program.”6 In a sign of its stronggrowth, I-GO will be adding 50 cars in2008 to its existing fleet of 170 cars.

Car sharing can also result in signifi-cant community-wide benefits, such as:• Reduced vehicle travel. City CarSharereports that “Car sharing members havean incentive to drive much less, since thefull costs of driving are visible in eachtrip … City CarShare members drive anaverage of 47 percent less after joining.They practice ‘judicious automobility,’using the vehicles for occasional tripssuch as shopping and recreation.”7

Similarly, Feigon notes “once you don’town, you organize your trips better.Instead of driving two blocks to buy milk,you walk.” This, in turn, contributes toemissions reductions, especially since carsharers can choose to drive small carsmost of the time, only using big vehicleswhen they really need them. • Less land needed for parking. Parkingspaces are available nearly everywherewe go, but we can only be in one place ata time, leaving vast stretches of emptyparking lots that bake in the sun or push

continued on next page

5 Email correspondence with Kristina Kennedy, Jan.16, 2008.

6 Email correspondence with Sharon Feigon, Mar. 3,2008.

7 Bringing Car-Sharing to Your Community. See foot-note 3.

8 See Todd Litman, “Evaluating Parking Problems,Solutions, Costs, and Benefits,” available at: <www.vtpi.org>. See also the Urban Land Institute report“Ten Principles for Rethinking the Mall,” which esti-mates surface parking stalls at $2,000 to $3,000 perspace, and structured spaces in the range of $15,000to $20,000.

★

PA

UL

HO

FF

MA

N

P L A N N I N G C O M M I S S I O N E R S J O U R N A L / N U M B E R 7 0 / S P R I N G 2 0 0 8

3

Traverse City,Michiganby PCJ Editor Wayne Senville

Traverse City is a community of some15,000 in northwest Michigan. BobOtwell, who served for seven years onthe city planning commission, describesit as a pedestrian and bike friendly city,but also a place that has lots of cars andlots of free parking.

Eight years ago Otwell and a friend,Sharon Flesher, decided to set up a carsharing program in the city. As Otwellexplains, “in our nine block neighbor-hood alone, there are about 400 cars.”Their aim with CarSharing Traverse, asthe business was called, was to get 100members and about ten cars to share.

To start things out, Otwell and Flesh-er each donated one of their own cars tothe new business, and purchased a third.They obtained three parking spots, one ata church on the west side of town, one ata commercial development downtown,and the third in Otwell’s east side garage.The mechanics were simple: a key box byeach car. Coordinating car use was doneby cellphones, not computer.

During the car sharing program’sthree years of operation, Flesher andOtwell faced a number of challenges. But the biggest was the time and effort it took them to run the car share whilemaintaining other job commitments.Eventually this caught up with them, andthey decided to close down the business.

In looking back at the venture –which topped out with 30 members –Otwell told me that “we didn’t have theexpertise and money to market the pro-gram enough.” The parking spots also“weren’t visible enough” to keep the pro-gram in the minds of the city residents.Another drawback in Traverse City is thewidespread availability of free parking,which negates an advantage that carsharing offers its members in other com-munities.

But Otwell remains optimistic aboutthe potential for car sharing to work insmaller communities like Traverse City,especially as the concept has picked upsteam in recent years. As with many pro-jects in smaller cities and towns, howev-er, Otwell explains that it’s important tohave an individual or organization to actas a dedicated “champion” to get some-thing done.

erably more outreach, marketing, andnew business approaches will be neededif car sharing is to work in suburbs ormuch lower densities.”12

Other criteria that presage a marketfor car sharing include:13

• Parking difficulty and cost. Where park-ing is difficult, there is a strong incentiveto share a car in order to avoid the hassleand expense of stowing one.• A mix of land uses. Car sharing businessmembers tend to need cars during theday, while individual members wantthem in the evenings and at weekends.This means that a mix of residential andemployment land uses helps ensure thecars are used enough to make the podfinancially viable. See also Planning for Car

Sharing.

• Neighborhood amenities. People whocan easily walk to shops and services areless likely to need to drive everywhere.• Good transit access. Car sharing will bea far more attractive option in neighbor-hoods that are well served by frequent,reliable, comfortable transit. Some peo-ple use transit to get to the car sharespace, and then make the last leg of thejourney by using a car share (if the finaldestination is beyond the range of transitservices).• Local interest. Community surveys andworkplace meetings can ferret outgroups of potential members.• Driving disincentives. These range fromrising gas prices and high parking coststo traffic congestion.• Growing environmental consciousness.For at least some car sharing users, espe-cially younger ones, one motivating fac-tor is an interest in reducing their autouse to save energy and combat globalwarming.

According to a report prepared by theTransportation Research Board: “Carsharing is overwhelmingly concentratedin metropolitan cores – around 95 percentof members are found in these settings… the picture in smaller communities is

• Fleet management savings.The City of Philadelphia

partners with the nonprofit Philly Car-Share, enabling City employees to usecar sharing vehicles. This has allowed theCity to sell off 329 vehicles, resulting inhuge savings.9

WHO USES CAR SHARING?

Prospective car sharers usually fallinto one of the following categories: peo-ple who could sell their car, householdswho could sell their second car, and car-free households. Many car share usersfall in the 21-35 year old range, thoughthe age of users is rising as the conceptbecomes more mainstream.10

Car sharers use the vehicles for a widevariety of trips, but less frequently fordaily commutes to work. People areoften receptive to the idea of car sharingfollowing “trigger events” such as chang-ing jobs, moving, getting married ordivorced, or facing a financial issue suchas the need for a new car or an opportu-nity to buy a house.

Employers can use car sharing pro-grams to provide flexible mobilityoptions for employees on work-relatedtrips and encourage them to take transitor walk to work. Indeed business use of car sharing is growing, with Zip-car reporting that more than 10,000 businesses use its services for business-related trips.11

WHERE DOESCAR SHARING SUCCEED?

According to City CarShare “densityis one of the most important factorsdetermining the viability of car sharing…and provides a measure of the potentialcustomer base within a short walk (5-10minutes) of a pod … At densities above25-30 units per acre, vehicle ownershipstarts to fall below one car per house-hold. In practice, this means that consid-

★

9 See “Philly CarShare becomes well-traveled,”Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 29, 2007.

10 Material in this and the following paragraph isfrom Bringing Car-Sharing to Your Community. Seefootnote 3.

11 Email correspondence with Kristina Kennedy, Jan.16, 2008.

12 Bringing Car-Sharing to Your Community. See foot-note 3.

13 Much of the material in the following bullets isalso from Bringing Car-Sharing to Your Community.See footnote 3.

Ready for Car Sharing?continued from previous page

P L A N N I N G C O M M I S S I O N E R S J O U R N A L / N U M B E R 7 0 / S P R I N G 2 0 0 8

4

Coming to a CampusNear YouThere is very strong interest in

car sharing in communities with a collegeor university – something that private carsharing businesses are capitalizing on. College campuses provide an environmentthat can support car sharing, even insmaller communities. Some reasons forthis:• They have large populations of studentsand staff clustered together.• They are usually designed to accommo-date bicycling and walking.• They generate trips at all different timesof the day (and night) rather than just atcommuter peak hours.• They often have serious parking manage-ment problems and/or bans on students’car ownership.• They contain concentrations of “earlyadopters” willing to try out new ideas.

The GoogleConnectionGoogle has developed an

extensive alternative transportation system, including a fleet of shuttles thattransport 1,200 employees a day to itsMountain View, California, headquarters.This has sharply reduced the number of employees needing to drive to work. An important component of Google’sapproach involves an employee car sharingprogram administered by Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

According to Enterprise’s Lisa Martini,having car shares available throughout the day gives employees access to a carwhen needed “to run a personal errand, a doctor’s appointment, and so on.” Martini points out that similar opportuni-ties for car sharing exist at other majorsuburban employment sites, both privateand governmental. Indeed, that’s an areaEnterprise is increasingly focusing on.

Continuing on the PlannersWebMore on car sharing is posted

on our web site – including a report on anew car share start up in the small city ofBurlington, Vermont and how the countymetropolitan planning organization(MPO) is assisting. You’ll also find links to useful online resources on car sharing:<plannersweb.com/carshare.html>

all neighborhoods, not just cherry pick-ing the places where people can paymore.”

But starting a new organizationrequires energy, patience, creativity, andperseverance. San Francisco’s City Car-Share recommends gathering at least fourstrongly committed activists who cansustain the effort for several years inorder to seriously begin the work.

The Transportation Research Boardreport identified five key factors for carsharing that your community could con-sider:15

• Identify a “champion,” such as anelected official or highly-placed staffmember who recognizes the benefits ofcar sharing and will work to promote it.• Adopt supportive policies and regula-tions, such as zoning incentives andinclusion of car sharing in environmen-tal, transportation, and corporate sus-tainability plans.• Provide funds to help car sharing pro-grams become established.• Implement supportive actions such asproviding marketing, parking, and inte-gration with transit.• Select neighborhoods that have thedensity, walkability, and transit service tohelp car sharing thrive.

SUMMING UP:

Planners and planning commission-ers are increasingly looking for ways ofreducing traffic in their cities and towns.Car sharing provides a traffic reductionand mobility option that can also offersignificant financial savings to its users.While car sharing programs are still pri-marily located in larger cities or universi-ty towns, as gas prices and the cost of carownership rise, smaller cities may wellfind car sharing an alternative worthconsidering. ◆

Hannah Twaddell is aSenior Transportation Plan-ner in the Charlottesville,Virginia, office of Renais-sance Planning Group. Herarticles on transportationplanning topics appear regularly in the PlanningCommissioners Journal.

PA

UL

HO

FF

MA

N

mixed. While car sharing can be found inplaces such as Aspen, Colorado andWhistler, British Columbia, operators inHalifax, Nova Scotia and Traverse City,Michigan have been forced to close.Operators have also had limited successwith expanding to suburban marketsnear Seattle and San Francisco. The keysto making car sharing succeed in lessurban areas appear to be communitysupport, a strong champion, and volun-teer involvement by members.”14

Partner organizations are also essen-tial to a car sharing program, with cashor in-kind resources from local govern-ments, transit agencies, employers, anddevelopers.

THINKING ABOUT A PROGRAMIN YOUR COMMUNITY?

One option for communities interest-ed in car sharing is to contact a privatecar share business such as Zipcar, or a carrental company, like Enterprise, that isincreasing its level of neighborhood-based operations. Car sharing businessesare growing, and expanding the numberof communities they serve.

The other approach is to develop anonprofit car share organization. Accord-ing to Sharon Feigon of Chicago’s non-profit I-GO car share program, “carsharing is a low margin business and as aresult, we think it works better as a non-profit … it allows us to charge lowerrates and to serve more communities,”adding that “we are committed to serving

P L A N N I N G C O M M I S S I O N E R S J O U R N A L / N U M B E R 7 0 / S P R I N G 2 0 0 8

14 TCRP Report 108, “Car-Sharing: Where and HowIt Succeeds” (Transportation Research Board, 2005).

15 Id.