Time Sharing Cars 298
timmy_walker writes "This article from the associated press talks about new car time share services from ZipCar and Seattle-based Flexcar, where "Customers make reservations via computer or telephone, and the company uses remote-access systems to control who can use the car when.""
Running late? (Score:3, Interesting)
Keeping them clean? (Score:5, Interesting)
Must offer something better (Score:5, Interesting)
Won't scale well (Score:3, Interesting)
Right now these companies have a limited membership that they can screen. But this will never survive the transition to big-time.
Dent-and-scratch (Score:4, Interesting)
In metro areas, bicycles are vastly faster anyways. If you can stand to get sweaty, that is...
A great idea that needs more press. (Score:5, Interesting)
But, frankly, there's times when it's a pain... it's off-peak hours, the weather is crappy, you have to go a long distance with several transfers, you're picking up something that can't be easily carried around, you're going on a date (well, not YOU, per se... but a non-slashdot reader).
I got quite sick of planning to be on the bus several hours per day when I worked on the far side of the city, but I couldn't afford the incredibly outrageous amounts for a car.
I mean, come on folks... it's a freakin CAR, it's not made of gold, it doesn't come with a built-in treasure map... why in the name of Linus should a chunk of metal that explodes dead dinosaurs to move cost $40,000+, and have insurance, consumables, and maintenance that can add up to many thousands per year more? I think they're priced that way because we're all conditioned to think that they should be expensive.
But, I digress. I wish this had been available when it was the right time of life for me to use it... a convenient way to have occasional access to a vehicle (an occasional requirement in a city with an extremely low population density like Edmonton) without having to bend over and take it up the ass from all the fuckers who seem to think that because the word "auto" has 4 letters, all the associated costs should have 4 digits (significant). I hope projects like these get more coverage, and help stop the rush of people going out to buy cars they can't afford with loans they can't afford on income they can't guarantee.
Re:nice but (Score:4, Interesting)
This is very true, as long as where you're heading is serviced by public transport, without and excessive number of changes.
I work about 15kms outside the middle of Sydney (North Ryde). Luckily, I live within a short walk of the main bus terminal in the Centre (QVB). If I lived in the Eastern Suburbs somewhere, I'd have to catch a train or bus in, then my usual bus out again, which is frankly a pain, and quite time consuming. None of my immediate colleagues use PT for this very reason. It's painful for them, so they drive (and incidentally bitch about the traffic). I don't think it occurs to the two who live close to each other to carpool, but that's another story.
Now cycling, that's different. It's a good ride on a decent day, takes roughly an hour for me, which is only 15 mins more than the walk/bus combo. It's more environmentally sound than Public Transport, you've as much freedom of destination as with a car, and your health is miraculously improved (though your chances of being maimed by traffic are probably higher). The initial investment is only a couple of hundred bucks, if you're not a gadget freak like me and end up spending way too much on titanium bits.
Of course if more people used PT, then PT could service more areas, this is obvious, but as things stand public transport is only a partial solution (and I'm an advocate of it)
It's too expensive. (Score:3, Interesting)
I live in Seattle and haven't been enthused about it.
To take a flex car to somewhere close but inconvenient that isn't served by bus, say a doctor appointment where you need time, is going to cost about $30 just for the time.
Or a trip to a nearby city, (Seattle to Everett) that might take an hour to drive there and back, but easily put 100 miles on a car... again, $30.
At the $30 mark, you can easily get a rental car for the entire day. Most real rental cars have enough free miles to make nearby but long trips.
Truly I don't know anyone who pays for FlexCar out of their own money who keeps using it.
I'd really like it if I could just grab a FlexCar on some one-way trips, like when I see one parked in a Park and Ride, it's cold, and my bus is late... but you have to return it where you find it and it's not quite so spontaneous to take them. C'est la vie, it hasn't worked for me.
Re:Won't scale well (Score:2, Interesting)
When you receive a car, you score the condition it is in online. If you want a good score, you better make sure the car is clean when you are finished, even if the pig before you made a mess.
Each member is then scored based on how he handed the car off to the next person. Groups can then be formed around ratings. Each group has a minimum score - if a user meets the requirement, he can join the group and borrow the car.
This way, slobs who don't pick up after themselves, or who don't really care if the car is well cleaned will get that type of car. Neat-freaks will receive perfectly clean vehicles.
flexcar in San Diego (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Dent-and-scratch (Score:4, Interesting)
Seriously, I've never really understood this fetish people have for mint-condition vehicles. My last car had a noticeable dent in one of its side panels for years. I saved a small fortune by not having it restored to factory condition. And yet its "car" functionality was completely unaffected. And since the guy I ended up selling it to just wanted a means of transportation (not a penis substitute), this "defect" didn't even affect its resale value. And when you're talking about a vehicle the drivers won't even own... why should anyone care if there's a ding in the door?
Regular rentals worked out for me.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Then one day, my beast of burden sat down on the side of the road and died. There was no cure.
So I went down to the local rental place, and made them a deal. I simply told them that I would like a car every weekend starting on Friday evening and that I would bring it back Sunday. I let them keep the deposit on file. They got steady business, I got whatever I needed (a clean, maintained car, truck, SUV, or convertible).
Sure, it was not all roses. There were times when I needed a truck but had to use an SUV. The Caddy convertible was not always available, but I got by. Low and behold, when I am totalling up the charges, it came to no more than the cost I spent on my old car. Go figure.
Now I live in the woods, so a ride is a necessity, but if I ever move back to the core, let me tell you...
Kind of Pricey (Score:4, Interesting)
Also, in a "time-share" you actually own something. Here, you are basically just a member of a club. Maybe this is all just a scam to get you application fee and $100 deposit, while paying for a rental car to boot.
Re:nice but (Score:2, Interesting)
For a long time, Zipcar tried to foster a sense of community in which abusing the cars (leaving garbage, empty fuel tanks, smoking, etc.) was highly discouraged. It would happen occasionally, but it was rare. They had somehow avoided the "tragedy of the commons".
Zipcar really fills a niche. It's not meant to be a bus replacement service, but is incredibly convenient for groceries and (especially) evening outings to MBTA-inaccessible suburbs. It was also really handy for times when you needed a van or station wagon. Overall we got by car-free in Boston with the help of Zipcar and public transit for everyday commuting (Zipcar isn't meant for commuting and those who use it for that purpose end up paying a lot).
When I left Boston Zipcar seemed to be moving in more of a "fancy lifestyle" direction, stocking their fleet with Mini Coopers and other snazzy but not necessarily cost-efficient cars for those who wanted to impress. I hope this move doesn't destroy the hippie public spirit of Zipcar.
I-Go in Chicago is... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Dent-and-scratch (Score:3, Interesting)
They matter because little dings, left unrepaired, become big rust spots.
They matter for the same reason that small holes and stains in your clothes matter.
$40K? You sir, are a moron. (Score:1, Interesting)
ZipCars in NYC have lousy rates (Score:1, Interesting)
Plus I have to pay an annual fee of $50 and a 1 time application fee of $25 plus $100 refundable membership fee [zipcar.com]. They should definately make it cheaper and then a lot of people in NYC would join....