You may have recently seen cars on the road with logos on the side designating them as part of a car share program. These crafty little programs are sweeping the nation, and with good reason. Car share programs allow members to use a car on a short term basis, and for a relatively small amount of money. Check out this handy chart, it confirms car sharing is becoming more popular.
Not only is the service affordable, and relatively convenient, but the vehicles are generally highly fuel efficient. Some services offer trucks, and other types of vehicles, but most rely on gas sippers such as the Honda Civic Hybrid, or Toyota Prius. I suspect here shortly, the all electric Nissan Leaf will be added to the rosters.
So, car shares are cheep, and good for the environment, but how do they work exactly? First one must apply to become a member. Once approved, you select a membership level, and in most cases pay some sort of small monthly fee. You then reserve a car when you need one, pick it up, drive it about, drop it off and pay a small hourly fee, plus a mileage charge. They also have daily rates as well, which include 100-150 miles for free, quite the bargain. Keep in mind gasoline and insurance IS included in the hourly/ daily plus mileage charge.
In Denver, It seems you have two main options, eGo car sharing, or Occasional Car. Both have locations all over Denver, and both are comparably priced.
eGo’s locations, Denver and Boulder:
Ego’s Pricing:
Occasional Car’s locations in Denver:
Occasional Car has several options for memberships and rates:
Both eGo car share and Occasional Car offer very affordable options. For those of us that live in the heart of Denver, locations close to where we live, work and play. As for those that live in larger cities such as Chicago, New York City, or Los Angeles, the car share programs are even more abundant.
Car share, it’s the way we will use an automobile in the future, so get hip to it now.