Ever wonder how much you’re really paying to drive your car every year? AAA estimates it costs $9,641 for a person driving a medium sedan 15,000 mile per year. Imagine living downtown where you’d only occasionally need a second car, avoiding the hassle and expense of parking? There may be an answer . . . car sharing!
Triangle Transit, Urban Design Center, and the Downtown Raleigh Alliance in conjunction with the City of Raleigh are looking into options for a car sharing service downtown. The Downtown Living Advocates participated in an exploratory meeting at the Urban Design Center on June 18th.
Car sharing has been used successfully in metropolitan areas, and city officials believe that downtown Raleigh has the necessary volume of potential users (downtown based employees, students and residents) to make the service feasible.
Car companies would provide the service through which users share a common vehicle for a specified period of time. The service would benefit city government employees and businesses and provide savings to small business and residential users who would otherwise need to rent cars by the day. User fees are estimated at $8-$10 per hour. Multiple pick up locations would be established in places within walking distance along the R-Line.
Car-sharing wouldn’t work for one way trips, say to the airport, as you must return the vehicle to the place where you picked it up. But, it should be a huge hit with downtown residents who could avoid the expense of owning and parking a (second) car.
If you are like me, and want to have the option of occasionally sharing a car to save money, then contact Stephanie Minker at Triangle Transit <SMinker@triangletransit.org>. Tell Stephanie that you support car sharing in downtown Raleigh, and get on the distribution list for notifications of all public discussions on this issue.