Different from rentals
Three key factors distinguish car-sharing from rentals: on-demand service, accessibility, and cost. According to Williams, car-sharing companies thrive on a self-service business model. For instance, once you’re a member of Flexcar, you can reserve a vehicle anytime via phone or Internet without having to fill out paperwork or deal with an agent.
Accessibility is another factor. “As opposed to car rental, where everything is on one central lot, Flexcar is across the street, around the corner, and in your building,” Williams explains. “In a number of cases, we pay for parking spots in privately managed buildings. In other cases, property managers give us parking spots because they market Flexcar as a tenet amenity—‘Your lease now comes with wheels.’”
The third and perhaps most appealing factor to car-sharers is that the cost is all-inclusive. While car rental companies have traditionally required drivers to have their own insurance, car-sharing is a package service that includes everything from insurance to roadside assistance.
Popular across generations
Although some of the strongest adoption for these services has been among people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, Williams says the company also has had a response from the 50-plus crowd. “We have people in the older demographic who are empty-nesters,” he explains. “They don’t want to spend money on car payments, and they’ve moved back into the urban centers after their kids have moved out and they’ve sold their houses in the suburbs.”
Flexcar’s competitor, Zipcar, is seeing the same growth. “Urban life is very attractive, and we are seeing a trend of many retirees looking to move back into the city to enjoy restaurants, [theater], and the overall urban community, but they don’t want to deal with the costs and hassles of owning a car,” says Ellice Perez, vice president of Zipcar in Washington, D.C.
Pilot program at Erickson
Mark Erickson, chief operating officer of Erickson Retirement Communities, recognizes this demand. In fact, the company currently is piloting a car-sharing program with PhillyCarShare at its Maris Grove campus in Glen Mills, Pa. In Erickson’s view, the central benefits to car-sharing are cost, space, and low environmental impact.
“Parking is a perennial issue on our campuses,” he explains. “Many of our residents drive infrequently and often come with two cars, and they don’t use those vehicles very efficiently. This creates a significant parking crunch.”
Maris Grove resident Joe Peronace has a 1997 Lincoln Town Car with over 100,000 miles on it. He says that the new car-sharing program has him thinking twice about buying a new vehicle.
“I feel that car-sharing might be the way to go,” he says. “We can have a car for use and only pay for the time we spend in it. For what we’re using our vehicle for now—to go shopping or back to Delaware County to see some friends—it’s ideal.”
The more cars Erickson eliminates on its campuses, the less parking it has to construct. According to Mark Erickson, a single parking space under a covered garage can cost upwards of $15,000. In other words, the elimination of each parking space allows the company to more easily pass along the savings to its residents.
Fewer spaces also means less paving and more green space, keeping campuses environmentally friendly.
Car-sharing companies are advancing the “green” movement in other ways too. According to Williams, Flexcar’s fleet is 33% hybrid and already exceeds the average fuel efficiency standard of new cars on a national level.
A 2005 study from the National Academy of Sciences found that each shared car takes 14.9 cars off the road. That means that by 2008, Flexcar’s fleet will clear roughly 30,000 vehicles from the nation’s highways.
Zipcar cites similar numbers. As of May 2007, Zipcar estimates that it has taken about 40,000 cars off the roads. The company’s members save about $436 a month and consume 219 fewer gallons of gas every year—the latter having particular import at a time when the U.S. Department of Energy reports an average unleaded gasoline price hovering right around $3 per gallon.
Based on these benefits, both companies are winning big clients. Some of Zipcar’s include Krispy Kreme, Whole Foods, and MIT, while Flexcar claims Nike, Starbucks, and Johns Hopkins University.
Perhaps the more than 100,000 corporate and individual clients nationwide are on to something. There’s more to sharing than conventional politeness.