When a handful of local greens and transportation reformers announced two years ago the creation of Austin CarShare, a hybrid of successful car-share organizations in other cities, many were skeptical of the concept — the first of its kind in road-oriented Texas — because Austin lacked a dynamic mass-transit setup to complement the service. More than 120 members later, however, Austin CarShare (www.austincarshare.org) appears to be thriving, despite the city’s reluctance to shed some of its vehicle fleet and sign on as a member.
Reservable online and available for use around the clock, the nonprofit’s intent is to allow folks to unshackle themselves from the financial bondage of car ownership and maintenance and make driving one of several viable transit options. The ultimate goal? For members to save money while helping curb congestion and cut pollution, especially auto-centric emissions of climate-changing carbon dioxide.
Austin CarShare’s modest fleet so far includes three Toyota Scion hatchbacks and a Toyota Tacoma pickup, parked in reserved spots Downtown, near UT, and in Hyde Park. Regular users pay $4 per hour and 44 cents per mile, and a limited plan is available for occasional users. The nonprofit covers the cost of insurance and fuel, and the cars are equipped with bike racks.
The City Council gave Austin CarShare a jump-start last September, approving a resolution that created prominent and permanent free parking spots for the cars (like the one on Downtown’s sassy Second Street) and waiving user parking fees at all city meters. The last component of that resolution, however — authorizing the city manager to “negotiate and execute a 12-month pilot program with Austin CarShare” — appears stuck in the slow lane. That assessment comes after several Chronicle phone calls spanning the city’s bureaucracy; it seems the pilot concept has been passed around widely but has coasted to a halt.
Now, as the city moves forward with its ambitious Climate Protection Plan, CarShare advocates are hoping local leaders will get their pilot rolling. “It’s time for us to share our six-month progress report with council and ask them for a significant commitment that matches the degree to which the city needs to save money, reduce vehicles and the associated costs, and cut greenhouse gasses,” said founding board member Brandi Clark.
In its proposal to the city, Austin CarShare estimated an annual savings of $10,000 via car-sharing to replace three Neighborhood Planning and Zoning Department vehicles, each driven less than 2,500 miles in fiscal year 2006. The concept that a city can successfully partner with a nonprofit car-share group was gilded by PhillyCarShare and the city of Philadelphia, which removed 329 cars from its 6,000-vehicle fleet between 2003 and 2004 — in large part through car-sharing.
The 6-year-old PhillyCarShare, now with 16,000 members and 350 vehicles, was nominated recently by Harvard’s JFK School of Government for an Innovation in Government Award. Robert Fox, administrative director of Philadelphia’s fleet office, said car-sharing saves the city $867,000 a year in fuel and maintenance costs — not including the cost of replacing older vehicles — and more than $1.6 million over five years. City inspectors sign up online for one of PhillyCarShare’s Toyota Prius hybrid sedans as needed, usually a day in advance, and the vehicle is available to them all day, Fox said. Availability conflicts aren’t common because PhillyCarShare’s private customers typically use the vehicles after business hours and on weekends, he said, adding that having vehicles located throughout downtown parking garages, near city offices, is absolutely crucial to the partnership’s success.
Austin’s minimalist mass-transit system should make car-sharing attractive to the city as a supplemental transportation option, which is how Philly’s slow mass transit bolstered the service there, Fox said.
Calls to the city manager’s office revealed little active progress toward creating a similar partnership here, though a framework similar to Philly’s has been considered. Assistant City Manager Rudy Garza, who oversees transportation, was unaware of any car-sharing proposals. Chief Financial Officer John Stephens said he looked at car-sharing in conjunction with state and other local governments but didn’t find much promise, adding that he hasn’t looked at designating a particular city department for the pilot. Jason Maurer, assistant to the city manager, stressed that the city quickly fulfilled the first two components of the resolution (reserved parking and free meter use) and said he’s awaiting data from an ongoing, broad assessment of the city fleet, in conjunction with the Climate Protection Plan, to calculate its carbon footprint and devise ways to make significant, long-term cuts. Austin sustainability officer Fred Blood said the city’s foremost climate-protection focus has been reducing the carbon intensity of the fuels municipal vehicles are burning.
Shane Guiter, a KLRU staffer and Austin CarShare customer, often pays his entire monthly CarShare bill with the proceeds from renting out his Downtown condo’s allotted parking spot. Since moving from New York City in 2005, he and his wife, Mary, have sought to remain car-free, and did so with the help of Austin CarShare. The couple uses the Toyota Scion parked a block away about twice a month, combining a trip to visit Mary’s mother in Georgetown and to pick up bulkier necessities at HEB or Target. “We haven’t for one day felt like we’re sacrificing by not owning a car,” Guiter said. “We feel like we’re doing a good thing congestionwise and for global warming, as well.”
This article appears in July 27 • 2007.