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Tuesday, 01 July 2008

Try Car-Sharing

Car sharing is a very practical option for those who do not use their cars on a daily basis. Members of car share organizations can use the cars simply by making a reservation online or on the phone. The cars can be rented at a daily or an hourly rate. Insurance, gas, and maintenance are all included in the fee. Car shares offer a variety of vehicles, so depending on your needs at any particular time you can opt for a vehicle that is suitable. In addition, most car share companies offer Low Emission Vehicles, which are better for the environment!

BENEFITS for the Environment:

The gasoline that our cars burn as they move down the road has a significant impact on our air. Pollutants like nitrous oxides, carbon monoxide, and ozone are byproducts from burning gasoline. In addition, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide are produced from burning just one gallon of gas. Notorious greenhouse gases are accumulating in our atmosphere, which may cause drastic climate change. Car-sharing, by removing the incentive to use your car as much as possible, has been found to reduce total car travel by up to 47%.

BENEFITS for Your Wallet:

The average household spends $2,834 a year on fuel. Add this to the cost of maintenance, insurance and other car-related expenses, and it is easy to see that cars are an expensive luxury. The average compact automobile costs about $5,000 a year when taking into account depreciation, insurance, taxes and finance charges. By comparison, car sharing averages out to around $540 a year.

BENEFITS for the Community:

If you've ever been stuck in traffic, you know that there are far too many cars on the road and far too few people in them. Car-sharing helps take cars off the road. This means less traffic congestion, less smog, less noise, fewer car accidents, and less taxpayer money wasted on road maintenance and construction.

Cost: Low to Moderate

If you drive 5,000 miles a year or less, car-sharing is much more economical than owning your own car.

Time and effort: Moderate to High

Car-sharing takes a little effort. You may have to walk or use public transit to your nearest car-sharing lot. However, car-sharing saves you an even greater effort of obtaining and storing a car, getting insurance, filling up gas, maintaining the car, and repairing damages.

How to car-share:

In urban areas, keeping a car you don't often use can be a huge drain on your budget. Fortunately, car-sharing is a relatively simple solution:

1. Find the nearest car-sharing location. An easy way to do this is to look up your city on this website: http://www.carsharing.net/where.html

2. There may be some restrictions for each car-sharing organization. Some require you to have driving experience and, in most cases, to be over 21, so not all college students can participate.

3. Pay the deposit, which generally averages from $100-350. This is usually refundable.

4. Pay the membership fees. These commonly include:

a permanent membership fee, usually in the range of $25-$115
a monthly fee, usually in the range of $10-$20
an annual fee, usually in the range of $35-$100
5. Reserve the car. You may be able to do this over the phone or even online.

6. Drive the car. There is usually an hourly fee and a small fee per mile.

7. Return the car to the car-sharing lot. It's that simple!

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Last Updated ( Friday, 12 February 2010 )

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