Stephanie Steinberg and Bill Vlasic survey the growing universe of car-sharing services. From big corporations to non-profits, the high demand for car sharing in urban areas allows a variety of alternatives to "coexist comfortably."
With about two dozen car-sharing services currently operating in the United States, the growing rental universe is far from homogenous. From Smart cars fleets that charge customers by the minute and allow for one-way rentals and free street parking to industry stalwarts that offer numerous rental locations and a wide variety of automobiles, "rental providers are trying to differentiate themselves" to attract a share of the 800,000 people who belonged to car-sharing services in the United States last year, report Steinberg and Vlasic.
What explains the rise in car-sharing, and its many variants?
“There’s a trend in general for people wanting to pay for what they use,” said Car2go’s chief executive, Nicholas Cole. “It’s like the success in iTunes, where people choose to buy a few songs instead of the whole album.”
"The need for cheap, convenient mobility is fueling the growth of car sharing around the world, said Susan Shaheen, co-director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. She said that recent statistics showed 1.7 million car-sharing members in 27 countries, not including so-called peer-to-peer services that allow drivers to rent vehicles directly from individual car owners."
"A menu of mobility options works for some consumers, like Michelle Fox, a 27-year-old executive of a technology company in Washington. Ms. Fox recently sold her Toyota S.U.V. because of the cost of car payments, insurance and parking."
"Instead, she uses a combination of Car2go, a bicycle-sharing network and the Uber call-a-limo service."
FULL STORY: Car-Sharing Services Grow, and Expand Options
New Player Emerges in Car Sharing Services
Arriving just in time in the District of Columbia, as Safe Track disrupts Metro service, General Motors launched 'Maven' to compete with ZipCar, Car2Go, and Enterprise car sharing services.
Car2Go Says Goodbye Smart Car, Hello Mercedes
Car2Go is giving an upgrade to its car sharing service in Portland, OR by phasing out the tiny Smarts in favor of larger Mercedes-Benz luxury vehicles.
Vancouver Sees Positive Benefits from Car Sharing
As car sharing services like Car2Go have infiltrated cities including Vancouver, B.C., benefits of reduced car ownership and greenhouse gas emissions are being realized, a new study finds.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
EV Infrastructure Booming in Suburbs, Cities Lag Behind
A lack of access to charging infrastructure is holding back EV adoption in many US cities.
Seattle Road Safety Advocates Say Transportation Levy Perpetuates Car-Centric Status Quo
Critics of a proposed $1.3 billion transportation levy say the package isn’t enough to keep up with inflation and rising costs and fails to support a shift away from car-oriented infrastructure.
Appeals Court: California Emissions Standards Upheld
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, the nation's two most powerful environmental regulatory agencies, won an important round in federal court last week. But the emissions standards battle may not be over.
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