for release sunday, Sept. 21, 2008
Sharing gets you wheels by the hour
By for release sunday, Sept. 21, 2008
Sharing gets you wheels by the hour
ATLANTA -- Jim Hackler, a nature-loving high-rise dweller with a streak of
hippie behind his Ray-Bans, had to get to Your DeKalb Farmers Market in Decatur
one day this month. But he didn't attempt to bike the eight miles through
traffic, to haul shrimp and wine on the bus and train, or to find a friend with
an open schedule and a need for freshly ground peanut butter.
Instead, he hopped into a car, a Toyota Prius parked a few blocks away from his
condo, hit the market and a few other errands, then parked it and headed
home.
But Hackler doesn't own a car; he shares the ones he drives with a few
hundred-thousand other drivers. The Prius he used belongs to Zipcar, an
international car-sharing company whose members literally pay as they go.
It's not exactly a replacement for a car, and it's not a rental car, users say.
In the Atlanta area, it's one of several short-term shared cars parked near
MARTA train stations, Atlantic Station's Ikea store, city office towers and
universities. The greatest concentrations of cars in Atlanta are around Georgia
Tech and Emory. One lone car is located outside the Perimeter, a Honda Civic
Hybrid parked in Sandy Springs.
Hackler and other users don't pay for gas or insurance - just a membership fee
and the hourly rate for the time he's in it. He never worries if there's a ding
in the door or mud on the paint - someone else will fix it. And he likes the
logo the cars sport, that knowing nod he gets from other drivers, the questions
people ask him in parking lots.
"I really enjoy not owning a car," said Hackler, a 47-year-old journalist and
son of a former General Motors executive. "This was a very elegant solution.
You can only fit so many groceries on the back of a bike."
Atlantans have been car sharing for two years this month. It started here with
Flexcar, a Seattle-based car-sharing company that merged with Cambridge,
Mass.-based Zipcar last year. These days, 70 cars - Honda Civics and Elements,
Toyota Priuses and Matrixes, convertible Mini Coopers, pickups and a minivan
-are parked at 50 locations in the city, and the car-sharing business is
booming.
Zipcar representatives wouldn't say how many Atlanta members it has, but the
company reports its national membership is on pace to grow to more than 300,000
this year - an 80 percent increase over 2007. High gas prices, increased intown
development and greater environmental awareness all contribute to its
expansion.
Still, Zipcar doesn't expect to make a profit until 2009. A few hundred
thousand users is a small chunk of the two million people ages 21 and older
that the University of California, Berkeley's Transportation Sustainability
Research Center estimated are in the car-sharing market. And that was way back
in 2005, before gas hit $4 per gallon. Of the 35 car-sharing services that
opened in the United States since 1997, 15 have closed. The biggest reason:
funding deficits and staffing needs, said Susan Shaheen, the research director
at the Transportation Sustainability Research Center.
And for all of car sharing's money-saving, community-building, green-living
qualities, it's tough for people to give up quick access to their own cars.
Can it possibly work in Atlanta, a place that's a punch line to every traffic
joke?
"The cars are going to be here because we want them to be," said Adele
Clements, Emory University's director of transportation. "I think it's working
for Emory."
Clements says car sharing survives in Atlanta because of commuters. Emory plans
to have 25 percent of its faculty and staff using bikes, vanpools and public
transportation by 2015. Those commuters get access to reduced-rate car sharing
for daytime doctor's appointments, off-site meetings or
sick-kid-in-the-principal's-office emergencies.
And once some drivers start sharing, they never go back to their car payment
and gas-pump pain. A Zipcar survey showed that 28 percent of car owners got rid
of a vehicle after they started car sharing, and 62 percent said they delayed
or halted a car purchase.
"What we have is early adoption - college kids, freshmen that are starting
school without a car because they can't have one," said Liz Wattenberg, the
general manager of Zipcar in Atlanta. "They're no longer looking at buying a
car after graduation."
As a computer science student at Georgia Tech, Scott Ehardt realized it cost
more to park his van on campus than to share a car. He got more creative with
public transportation, biking and walking, used Zipcar's pickup to haul heavy
loads and smaller cars for fun and groceries.
The only downside: counting driving time in dollars.
"I couldn't decide to stay somewhere longer," said Ehardt, now 23 and
graduated. "You have this time limit hanging over you the whole time."
He recently bought a Toyota Prius that he uses, along with public
transportation, to commute from Midtown to Alpharetta. Still, he says, he would
go car-free in the future if his work situation changed.
Hackler, the grocery shopper, says he notices that the cars closest to his
condo are booked more often these days, which could be annoying if it weren't
encouraging to him. (Zipcar is constantly shuffling the locations of its fleet
to accommodate its drivers, it says.)
He skips the gym in favor of his bike, makes extra cash by renting his condo's
parking space and actually enjoys driving when he does hit the road on those
special occasions when he needs a car.
"I want it to succeed," Hackler said. "If Zipcar wasn't available, I can pretty
much guarantee I would own a car. We pay a huge premium for that ridiculous
convenience, and it would just be sitting there all the time."
HOW CAR SHARING WORKS
Various car-sharing companies and nonprofits have different systems for
reservations and payments. In Atlanta, drivers can access Zipcar, a nationwide
car-sharing company with 70 vehicles parked in metro Atlanta. Here's how Zipcar
works.
Register. Online at www.zipcar.com. There's a $25 application fee and yearly or
monthly fees, depending on your plan. Drivers must be at least 21, except
students at Georgia Tech, Emory and Agnes Scott, who must be at least 18 and
can only access campus-area cars. Members must have a valid license for at
least one year, and driving history can affect eligibility.
Reserve. Once you're approved and receive a Zipcard, you can reserve a car
online or by phone. Cars can be reserved months or minutes ahead. Rates depend
on your membership plan, but they range from about $7 to $13 per hour.
Pick up. At your reservation time, locate your car (or call Zipcar if it's not
there). Hold your card to the box on the windshield. It will unlock the door
throughout your reservation; the key will be inside.
Drive on. A gas card hangs in the visor. You'll need your Zipcard number and
the vehicle mileage for it to work. Insurance information is in the glove box.
If you get a ticket, let Zipcar know before the cops do, or there could be
additional fines. Accident? Call as soon as possible; there is a $500 damage
fee.
Return the car. To the space where you picked it up. Make sure the gas tank is
at least one-quarter full. If you're running late, call Zipcar to extend the
reservation or let it know. There's a $50 penalty for returning a car late
without calling, and expect to hear about it if you leave the car messy.
Pay. Zipcar will bill your credit card for the hours you used it. Hourly rates
vary based on the type of car, its location and the reservation time.
- Jamie Gumbrecht
Jamie Gumbrecht writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: jgumbrecht
AT ajc.com
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