Group looking into car sharing Programs popular in urban areas BY SARA FOSS Gazette Reporter
In the Capital Region, it can be tough to get around without a car. There are buses, but they don’t go everywhere, and taking cabs can get expensive. But a car-sharing program could make things easier for people who lack reliable transportation. At least, that’s what a new committee currently exploring the possibility of bringing one to Albany, Schenectady and Rensselaer counties believes. Car sharing is a low-cost, neighborhood-based car-rental program that allows people to use a car for a few hours at a time. Lauren Alpert, a graduate student in regional planning at the University at Albany, was hired to serve as the committee’s consultant. She said car sharing is successful “in urban cores where people don’t necessarily need to have cars.” Advocates say car-sharing programs help people access vehicles when they need them and are good for the environment because they give people the option of relying on a combination of public transportation and the occasional car rental. An open forum on car sharing will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on June 12 at the Albany Public Library’s main branch. “We’re trying to educate the public about what car sharing is,” Alpert said. Other cities have such programs. One of the highest profi le car-shar- ing programs is Zipcar, a for-profit company with cars in about 14 U.S. cities, including Boston, New York, Chicago, Providence and Pittsburgh. But there are other programs: Hertz on Demand; WeCar, which is run by Enterprise Rent-ACar; U Car Share, which is run by U-Haul; and locally based services such as Buffalo Carshare in Buffalo, City CarShare in San Francisco and PhillyCarShare in Philadelphia. These locally based efforts are nonprofi ts, and the fees are fairly modest: the Buffalo program advertises membership dues of $5 a month, or $50 per year, for infrequent use, and dues of $20 per month for drivers who use the service more than five hours per month. Drivers also pay hourly rates for vehicle use: Infrequent users pay $8 per hour, while people who use the vehicle for more than fi ve hours per month pay $5 per hour. The committee studying the possibility of bringing car sharing to the Capital Region comprises a number of organizations, including the Capital District Transportation Authority, the Capital District Transportation Committee, the Central Avenue Business Improvement District, the College of Saint Rose and the Albany Parking Authority. Alpert, the committee’s consultant, is developing a plan for the area that will pinpoint the places where sharing would be feasible. CDTA INTERESTED Margo Janack, a spokeswoman for CDTA, said that group views car sharing as something that can complement bus service and perhaps make relying on buses more feasible for people. “Our buses don’t go everywhere, and they may not always run at convenient times,” Janack said. Janack said CDTA is interested in finding ways to fill gaps in its service. CDTA’s Guaranteed Ride Home program allows people who have a valid monthly CDTA pass or are registered for the Guaranteed Ride Home program at iPool2. org to get a free taxi ride in case of emergency. iPool2.org serves commuters who walk, bike, car pool or use alternative transportation by helping them find car pool matches, park and ride lots and other services. The website capitalmoves.org contains information about car sharing and how it works. According to the site, people join a car-sharing program, often for a fee, and are then able to reserve vehicles online or via a smartphone. Drivers buy gas, but the vehicles’ maintenance and insurance is part of the user fee. .......................>>>>......................................>>>>.......................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01102&AppName=1
folks I work with do it all the time....the only thing is the insurance issue.....OMFG!!!! get new laws on the books and CREATE a GOVERNMENT SYSTEM RUN FOR THE PEOPLE but certainly not BY THE PEOPLE......
pay attention......
be careful what we wish for.....
how about equine sharing too....or pitbull sharing.....or kid sharing(that would be daycare) another thing laws were passed to usurp....if you watch other folks kids more than, what is is, 4, then one must register as a daycare, pay for license, inspection etc etc.....all for what? can we say it together...
INSURANCE.....what a freakin' joke......
insurance turns humans into rabid dogs
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Car sharing...can see it now.....drug dealers don't have to steal a car anymore to bo to NYC.....
wow....car thefts will certainly be down...but insurance companies will surely thrive....and so will the addicts...
not once they get 'barcoded'.....no code=no car......and don't think this won't apply to the rest of us who say "what do I care as long as I am not breaking the law."
car sharing=information sharing=government/insurance/legislative watching/moving/controlling......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
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