Save Gas by Car-sharing!

By Melinda Toussaint

With the combination of the tough economy and environmental pressures many people are learning to give up luxuries they’ve grown accustomed to; ie: venti vanilla lattes, spending an afternoon parousing a shopping mall, or a long hot bath. Now we are making bitter coffee, shopping online, and taking two minute luke warm showers.

It’s no wonder that with inconsistent gas prices, the inconvenience of carpooling, and the possiblitiy of missing the bus, a couple major companies are presenting us with an alternative: car-sharing. Hertz Corporation’s new service Connect is a car-sharing service provided to citizens in which they pay a monthly membership fee or an hourly rate. Members pick up cars at one of the numerous locations in specific cities and off they go. Connect was launched last December in response to international Zipcar’s success.

Zipcar pioneered their car-sharing business in Europe and have had success stateside as well by offering 5,500 cars to approximately 250,000 members in the U.S. as well as London. Hertz Corp.’s Connect, currently has 100 cars in two American and two European locations with plans to expand to 40 other states/countries after it’s launch in Boston, Mass. Car-sharing lessens harmful emissions, reduces congestion, and more energy efficient than owning your own car. Zipcar believes that every car they offer takes 15 to 20 percent personally owned off the road and they also believe that growing success means that approximately 10 percent of the population to adapt to car-sharing.

Scott Griffith, Zipcar’s Chief Executive, said “It’s not about individual sales but about building a brand around understanding the urban lifestyle, being attentive to the needs and desires of members, and building relationships”. Thus Hertz Corp. plans to reshape the corporate culture to broaden the global reach of their new Connect service.

Over the next few months Hertz Corp. will be working hard to introduce Connect to the world by this Spring. Soon we as a community will be able to share cars with cities and citizens around the country because Hertz and Zipcar are amongst many companies expanding to this new found consumer need. Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s WeCar has provided car-sharing for companies, government agencies, and colleges that wanted cars for their workers and students. UHaul also launched their UCar Share last year a program that is currently available in Portland, Maine, Berkeley, Cal., Madison, Wis., and Portland, Ore.

Both with Zipcar and Hertz’s Connect it seems you can share a car for around $9 per hour or a monthly membership of $50. A huge plus however is that both companies pay for your fuel and insurance while you share a car! Go online now and check out these companies and see if it’s right for you. The more members these companies acquire, the more possibility of expanding to every major city in the country.

Going green isn’t just sharing clothes, recycling plastic, and turning off the lights when you leave, it is a conscious choice to go the extra mile and cut out the luxuries that are the most harmful to the environment as well as to our wallets. Car-sharing is only an alternative if it can work with your lifestyle. Visit www.connectbyhertz.com and www.zipcar.com to check out rates and more environmentally benefits.

Car-sharing companies have plans to take over the car market, especially amongst college students that can’t afford their own vehicle but are too young to rent one. If you do decide to turn yourself over to the car-sharing industry you can save yourself almost $500 per year! Think of all the other green movements you can support with that money.... or you can just support yourself during these troubled times. Either way car-sharing can go a long way, if you let it!