City CarShare

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

City CarShare is a non-profit car sharing organization in the San Francisco Bay area. The service was launched in 2001 by transportation activists and many partners in Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco. City CarShare has cars available for use at all times of day. Members pay an on-going administration fee and usage charges based on amount of time used, distance driven, time of day, and vehicle type. Models available include: MINI Cooper Convertible, MINI Cooper, Toyota Prius, Toyota Tacoma, Scion xB, Scion xA and Toyota Yaris.

City CarShare now competes with for-profit entities Flexcar and Zipcar.

City CarShare has changed the transportation landscape in the San Francisco Bay Area by working with local governments and businesses to place cars in neighborhoods. Some governments and businesses have also begun using City CarShare cars as part of their fleets during days, with those vehicles available to CarShare members at other times. City CarShare has also worked with transit agencies to place cars in transit station parking lots, greatly increasing the transportation connectivity in the area.

The environmental, community, and economic benefits of City CarShare are many. A long-term study of City CarShare members by Robert Cervero, Professor of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, found that 30 percent of households that join City CarShare sell a car. Even more household members delay purchasing a car. Transit use, bicycling, and walking also increase among members.