Interest check: Shared car system in KC?

[kclofter]

Of late, I’ve been thinking of proposing a small scale shared car system in the KC and was wondering if there were enough folks interested in the concept.  I am a member of Zipcar in Washington DC (travel there a fair amount) http://www.zipcar.com and have found it to be VERY convenient (and green).

We currently live in a condo just east of the Plaza (only 19 units) which would not likely generate enough folks who could support this viably, but if it were to be expanded a bit, might be able to be self-sufficient.

Concept would be very similar to Zipcar - multiple shareholders would buy in for a monthly base fee, then rent car(s) on an hourly basis as needed.  Scheduling would be via web for blocks of time, key card access to the vehicle, credit card in the glove box for fuel purchase only, keep the tank at least half full at all times, unlimited mileage, etc (see Zipcar site for concept details – I don’t want to repeat them all here).

Currently, my wife and I have 2 vehicles – hers gets used daily, but mine mostly sits for a week at a time as I use rental cars when driving back and forth from KC to my office in Columbia and use a livery service for airport trips.  It seems crazy to keep the second car.

So, bottom line, is there interest in members of this board in trying to develop this on a small scale here (probably with one or two cars at first)?

[macnw]

Sounds like a cool idea. Similar to what we have here in Portland, even though I have never used it.

[anniewarbucks]

This idea would never fly. most people pride themselves in total car ownership. With a shared car concept the pride in ownership will decrease and the cars will not be taken care of as much as a person that owns their own car.

[dangerboy]

This idea would never fly. most people pride themselves in total car ownership. With a shared car concept the pride in ownership will decrease and the cars will not be taken care of as much as a person that owns their own car.

Ever get out of Topeka?  Car sharing most certainly does fly, including sprawl- and car-happy places like LA, Chicago, DC, Cleveland, Detroit, and many others.  See the full list here.  It would be a new a idea for KC, but eventually it would succeed. 

[staubio]

I missed this thread until today.  I'm totally interested.  I've already informally started this with a couple of car-free friends and me.  I own a car but it sits for several weeks at a time.  I purchased some additional remotes for my car alarm and gave them to my friends so they could grab the car should they need it for some reason.  They just have to let me know if it is going to be gone for more than a couple of hours and I let them know if I'll be needing it at some point.  They help me out with some of the expenses and the car actually gets used, resulting in a couple of fewer cars sitting around downtown.

Still, the car is underutilized.  I'd love to formalize this a bit more.  It would absolutely work out.  I don't garner any pride from owning my car and I'd be happy to participate in a car share program.  Problem is that it is incredibly cheap to own a car in KC so any carshare would need to be inexpensive or nobody would have an incentive to participate.  The other challenge is that it would be hard to stash cars in every neighborhood like they do in Chicago because we're a bit spread out.  As it is, the fact that I'm in the Rivermarket serves as a disincentive for my friends to walk a mile to grab the car.

I'm in if we can make it work.

[DaveKCMO]

now that we have a light rail proposal, maybe we could attract zipcar for union station? kansas city would be the perfect market since everyone is so car-centric.

[dangerboy]

now that we have a light rail proposal, maybe we could attract zipcar for union station? kansas city would be the perfect market since everyone is so car-centric.

Might help if interested folks signed up with Zipcar so they could see there's a potential market here...  http://www.zipcar.com/notify-me

[jaysonv]

If I could take some kind of light rail or BRT to work in Olathe and use a Zipcar for occasional driving, I'd sell my car tomorrow. 

[DaveKCMO]

Ordinance 110618

Amending Chapter 40, Article II, Code of Ordinances, by repealing Section 40-166, Rental car license fee, and enacting in its place a new section of like number and subject matter to impose an hourly license fee for passenger cars rented on an hourly basis, while retaining the $4.00 per day license fee for daily car rentals and the annual gross receipts license fee.

[kclofter]

This sounds like great news.  I've emailed Council to get more info.

[DaveKCMO]

forgot to mention that the ordinance passed unanimously last week (oddly, with no sponsor?). an article in the star spills the beans:

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/08/24/30 ... boost.html

The city is partnering with the Mid-America Regional Council and the University of Missouri-Kansas City to start a pilot car-sharing program at the UMKC Volker and Hospital Hill campuses. They would start small, possibly with two cars at Volker and one at Hospital Hill. If successful, the program could expand to downtown and other locations.

Bob Simmons, associate vice chancellor with UMKC, said such programs have worked well on other college campuses, where students, faculty and other city residents may not want the hassle of parking or the costs of owning a car. Hourly car rentals can range from $8 to $12, including the cost of fuel and insurance.

[coreyo]

forgot to mention that the ordinance passed unanimously last week (oddly, with no sponsor?). an article in the star spills the beans:

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/08/24/30 ... boost.html

The city is partnering with the Mid-America Regional Council and the University of Missouri-Kansas City to start a pilot car-sharing program at the UMKC Volker and Hospital Hill campuses. They would start small, possibly with two cars at Volker and one at Hospital Hill. If successful, the program could expand to downtown and other locations.

Bob Simmons, associate vice chancellor with UMKC, said such programs have worked well on other college campuses, where students, faculty and other city residents may not want the hassle of parking or the costs of owning a car. Hourly car rentals can range from $8 to $12, including the cost of fuel and insurance.

Why is the city involved in this? Shouldn't they be spending money stopping teen riots.

Anyway, Zipcar announced a university program in partnership with Ford.
http://www.zipcar.com/universities/