This presentation was given to Broward County, FL Commuter Services in 2005. It is a basic explanation of what car sharing is, and how it works. Car Sharing 101!
Like withdrawing or transferring funds online or via TT phone. Simple, intuitive. Improves regularly.
Portland has been going since 2000; 115 vehicles; est. 150 by 12/31/06.
Takes about 90 seconds.
Orange %, 7 and 10 indicate daily rates Vehicles in order of member’s historic preference
Think of this as your “itinerary.” Note two open fields at top, for recordkeeping/accounting/accountability. Note links to transit routes.
More than 50% are hybrids. Should always be clean.
Placement fees vary widely based on desirability of the location, existing member density, and willingness to help with promotional activity. Examples: 1) In great locations, property owners give us a publicly-accessible parking space and help with local promotion, and pay nothing. We offer their residents a discounted membership. 2) In good locations, we negotiate. We try to reach $1600/vehicle/month, and our unit costs are $1000/vehicle/month, so depending on the location, we require somewhere between these figures. Often these are “subtraction” guarantees. As the car earns more revenue, the developer’s guarantee declines. 3) If a “sponsor” wants to buy down the incremental cost of use (eg an employer wanting to offer a benefit), they can pay a “placement fee” (eg $800-$1000/month) and we’ll reduce the hourly rate to the end-user to $5-6/hour. 4) Speculative locations require a full revenue guarantee. Sometimes also require on-site vehicle management (e.g. oil changes, washing).
Average trip uses only 8 miles/hour; usually many miles left over, so longer trips are OK.
We never met 90% of our individual customers. No paperwork; no standing in line.