Car-sharing program one answer to county’s transit-system woes

By M. Mindy Moretti
Senior Staff Writer

The American love affair with the automobile began almost from the moment the first Model Ts rolled off the assembly line. Today, that love affair is made all the more evident as citizens are willing to spend countless hours per week commuting to and from work in their cars.

Counties throughout the country have searched for a variety of ways to ease the congestion, but often times, it all comes back to the fact that Americans love their cars and hate to give up that flexibility.

To that end, Arlington County, Va., as well as a handful of other counties, have begun partnering with for-profit car-sharing programs.

"Car-sharing actually originated out of a county government idea," explained John Williams, director of marketing for Flexcar, the oldest of the car-sharing programs. "Back in 1999, King County [Wash.] Metro Transit was looking for a program that could complement its public transit system. They had been watching the car-sharing experiment in Europe and decided that was just what they needed."

Flexcar (and its competitor Zipcar) are car-sharing programs that allow the consumer to rent cars by the hour. Hourly rates include parking, gas, insurance and maintenance of the vehicle. Flexcar offers a variety of cars Ñ including hybrids, trucks and even mini-vans — to rent by the hour. Although cars can be rented for any length of time, the rate structures are ideally suited for those quick trips around town and not necessarily designed for the weekend visit to the country.

"Although government participation is not a requirement, it sure can accelerate the process," Williams said. "Car-sharing really is a unique hybrid of government and enterprise."

Arlington County, Va. is a leader in the car-sharing arena. Although both car-sharing programs had cars located in the county, it wasn’t until Chris Hamilton, manager, Commuter Assistance Program for Arlington, approached the companies about increasing their presence in Arlington.

The county partnered with both Flex and Zip, and designated 20 easy-to-find, on-street parking spaces for car-sharing vehicles. All the cars in Arlington are located near Metrorail, Metrobus and the Arlington Transit bus service. The county removed the meters and installed official signage designating the spaces for car-sharing vehicles.

"Over the last several years, Arlington County has led the way throughout the nation in the creation of urban villages and pedestrian-friendly communities," explained Tim Vogel, general manager for the Washington D.C. office of Flexcar. "By adding Flexcar to the mix through the Arlington car-share program, the county is helping extend its reach and adding a new dimension to personal mobility."

As an added incentive, the county is offering free or discounted membership to both programs, as well as free-use allowances for anyone who works or lives in the county. Since mid-March, Flexcar has added about 50 new members in Arlington County and has seen reservations increase dramatically.

"We see car-sharing as a major step to meet the needs of our citizens and people who work in Arlington County," Hamilton said. "If we can help provide that service through partnering with private car-sharing groups, then we can say at the end of the day that we’ve put solutions in place that are helping our community and our people, and that’s something we’re very proud of."

Benefits of car sharing

• Car sharing reduces car usage of individuals by as much as 50 percent.
• Each car-sharing vehicle replaces four to eight privately owned cars.
• Individuals who car-share tend to use transit and other alternative modes of transportation more heavily and,
• Car sharing improves air quality.

A three-year study in San Francisco, funded by the Federal Highway Administration, found that more than two-thirds of members either sold a car or decided against buying one after joining a car-share program. The study also found that the service each day saved 13,000 miles of vehicle travel, 720 gallons of gas and 20,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.

The Arlington Carshare Pilot Project Program is scheduled to last one year and will be re-evaluated at that time.