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One of the major benefits of carsharing is that it saves money since owning a private vehicle, while very convenient, has many attached costs -- monthly payments, gasoline, oil changes, maintenance, parking, and insurance. Besides reducing costs, car sharing takes more cars off the road, reduces traffic congestion and pollution.
CarSharing is a pay-as-you-go car usage system. Members go online, reserve a car and use their personal keyfob to access the car. Billing is both hourly and mileage fee based. Insurance, maintenance, and even gas are all included. CarSharing has been shown to increase pedestrian, bike and transit trips by up to 54%. Members can save up to $250-300/month. CarSharing lets you choose to pay the costs of driving only when you want to drive. The Boulder-Denver metro area has a local non-profit carsharing organization called eGo CarShare. As of April 2010, eGo CarShare has 18 vehicles, including hybrids and a dual-fuel pick-up truck. Its over 850 members have access to a network of cars throughout the metro area, 24 hours-a-day, paying-per-trip, without commitment or inconvenience. Vehicle usages fees range from $2.50 to $6.50 per hour plus $0.30 per mile. Fees includes gas, insurance and maintenance. |