Does anyone in this forum use a car sharing program? Depending on your answer, why?

I share one with my wife...does that count?

Haven't had reason to yet. But the time is coming.

When I have outside the metro trips, I often use a car from Budget that no one else is using that day. Not quite the same thing, but close. Though in recent months, I've just used one of the fam vehicles instead. My lovely acquired a new to her ride last August through a friend. Decent milage so I've used it a few times.

I shared my a car with my stepson a few times. After having a car totaled twice that won't be happening again.

I shared my a car with my stepson a few times. After having a car totaled twice that won't be happening again.You shared it with him 3 times and he totaled it twice!?!? Shame on you then lol j/k ;)

You shared it with him 3 times and he totaled it twice!?!? Shame on you then lol j/k ;)

I understand, plupan. If it had been you, it would have been 3 out of 3. :D

Let me introduce this forum to what car sharing means. Car Sharing is a membership based car rental service. You can rent a vehicle by the hour or daily. Vehicles are places in high traffic areas in other business parking lots. Example; Midtown has a Mini Cooper and a Nissan Juke in the Brown's Bakery parking lot. They are available for rent 24/7. Once you have filled out an application and become a member, you are then covered by our insurance program and we pay for gas and maintenance. Hourly rates starting at $8.50 and daily rates $65.00. You are given a membership smart card that will unlock these vehicles for you. When you enter the vehicle the key is placed inside and you are ready to go. After you are done with the vehicle, you simply park it back where you picked it up.

Does anyone have questions about car sharing? Home | Timecar (http://www.timecar.com)

It think you might have discover the root of your challenge in OKC TimeCar. The concept of a shared-economy is as foreign to OKC as curry. Once people understand you aren't trying to spread communism it becomes easier, but clearing that first hurdle is hard as hell.

I think most people understand how it works, its just there's no need when you already own a vehicle (or several). The number of people who don't own a vehicle will be relatively minimal in OKC (que suburban sprawl whine-fest now). :tongue: Maybe short-term pickup rental might be handy though. Ever since I sold mine I've been missing it's capabilities. Home Depot's rental truck has gotten a few workouts from me.

You do have your rare folks (like Sid, and the carlessinokc folks), but hopefully that is a growing trend...

I want very much to use the service, but it is hard to justify except on rare occasions (car in the shop).

If I ever worked downtown as well as lived there, instead of only living there, and my car went on the fritz, I would definitely join and use the service more often for those times I needed to make a trip, vs buying a new car...

I do the opposite. Cars share me.

Two-driver household...I have three cars, wife has one. :D

I can't imagine ever not having at least one vehicle. I see that for the majority of Oklahoman's.

I would love to car share, but the locations aren't yet that convenient for me (or the other way around I suppose is equally valid).

I don't see this service as cost competitive. You can rent an intermediate size car from Enterprise at $28.00 a day in OKC and they will pick you up at your location as well.

I agree daily rate wise, but if you only need it an hour it works great. I suspect the higher daily rate is to discourage daily use so the cars are available for hourly users. But I don't know.

I can't imagine paying 2x the going rate or more for a daily rental. And by the time one pays a 3 hour rental at 24 or so, it still makes more sense to get an all day car from a budget or entrerprise, at least to me in does But I guess if the need is under two hours, it gets into advantage Timecar.

One of the issues I see is availability.

Now, because it's new and thus there isn't much use, you can be confident the car will be there when you want it. Just walk over and hop in.

But as business picks up, I would assume there would be key times there would be need without availability.

Is there a way to check to see if the car is at a location before walking over?


Also, one of my biggest gripes is that way too many people drive the biggest car they could possibly ever need at any one point in time. I call it driving to the highest common denominator. You have families that are typically smaller than ever before driving massive SUV"s everywhere because once every two years everyone is in the same car at the same time along with a dog and tons of other stuff. Virtually every other moment, 3 tons of vehicle are being hauled to work or to get a gallon of milk with only the driver and cargo that would fit in the tiniest trunk.

If there were large vehicles freely available for those very rare times it is truly needed, it would encourage people to drive smaller, more responsible cars every day.



Great business idea and hope it's successful.

For a compact car @ Enterprise( Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris or similar) the all day rate is 16.97 before fees, 26.72 after. The 28.00 I cited earlier was after fees. Yes this does not include gasoline or insurance. Needing a car for just an hour could make TIMECAR competitive, but you might be better off with a cab. ENTERPRISE, Yellow Cab, or TIMECAR, you are sharing a car.

Time Car and other car sharing programs are not trying to compete with Car Rental Giants like Budget or Enterprise, because they are buying these companies. Enterprise has car sharing and Budget/Avis owns Zipcar, the largest car sharing company in the world. Car sharing is trying to help with the congestion of a growing city. Dallas, Houston and Austin already have an established car sharing economy. With multiple companies operating in each city. We are a large land mass and it creates the need for a vehicle. Car sharing is not asking you to sell all your cars, but it is asking that you might save money by selling one of them and using car sharing for the other vehicle.

The issue with availability is not a problem, and will never have to be. As soon as a location becomes busy, we merely add cars or add more locations. Supply meets demand.

Car sharing is 24/7. You can go online and see the availability of the cars at each location near you before you even make a reservation. You can also extend your reservation if needed by simply going online and updating it, or just adding 30 minutes to the computer in the vehicles itself. That simple.

So sell the cars that you don't need, save by using Time Car, then buy your dream vehicle and use it on the weekends.

I don't want to be argumentative but it isn't really a matter of whether or not it is a successful idea or not. It's an established market all over the world. ZipCar is the worlds largest but others are growing rapidly. And they are growing because they are heavily used. Car2Go is probably the fastest growing in the space.

Yes, you can easily see where cars are and if they are available.

Car2Go even shows you how much fuel is in the tank. :)

Meant that I hope THIS business in THIS community is successful.

Just checked Enterprises website. A Economy or Compact car is going to run you $32.81.

Better yet, just do the $9.99 special on the weekends and its only $34.28 pick up on Friday and drop off on Monday.

My insurance covers a rental car but I would have to provide gas. Also, Enterprise hasn't done unlimited local miles in awhile, so after 300 miles its $.20 mile (not an issue for most people, but it is with my driving needs).

For me, owning my own car is way too convenient. Actually, we own 4 cars right now. If I was in a big city like NY then I could see doing it. Possibly in OKC if I was retired and didm;t around much or if I was in grad school and spent most of my time studying. Otherwise it would be a huge inconvenience.

I do wise they had by the hour pickup trucks (besides Home Depot). Now that's something people need from time to time to move furniture, large purchases, etc.

I understand, plupan. If it had been you, it would have been 3 out of 3. :Dnaaaa, it would've just come back with every cop in the city looking for it ;)

I live in Mustang and babysit from one to three Grandsons almost daily. I own one car. I guess I really don't have dog in this fight. Just moving the Car seats and Booster would wear me out.

I do wise they had by the hour pickup trucks (besides Home Depot). Now that's something people need from time to time to move furniture, large purchases, etc.

Pretty sure TimeCar has a pickup truck as one of their options (in certain locations -- but think they'll move it for you if you need it at yours). If not they used to.

Just looked over CarTime in detail - when it was pointed out above they also offer trucks!

However, this only assured me I will not participate in their service......

If I read it correctly (and please do not hesitate to correct me if I'm wrong - not that that's ever really an issue on this forum);

1.) You can't tell what cars are actually available unless or until you sign up.

2.) Signing up means paying a $25 application fee for a service you may decide never to use.

3.) You also have to pay a monthly fee of at least $5/month just for the privilege of maybe using their service in the future

4.) Included mileage is limited.


Yeah, no thanks.

Not saying it's the best for everyone, but they do have a large capital investment, so I understand the need for the potential user to have some skin the game.

Not saying it's the best for everyone, but they do have a large capital investment, so I understand the need for the potential user to have some skin the game.

Why should their capitol investment mean I have to pay fees up front for a service I may never use?

That would be like Cox Cable making me pay to see if I qualify to subscribe to their cable offerings and only after I pay do I find out exactly what channels they are going to offer me.

Virtually very business has 'large capital investment' - why is that the customers concern to the point you have to pay just to consider using a service?

Maybe its just me, but I don't like that business plan in most instances.

I'm not saying you're wrong, your complaint is totally legit, but you do pay most of your bills in advance whether or not you use those services that month...

Only time someone like Budget wants me to pre-pay is to save me money. Further out I know I need a ride, the lower my rate, to a point. I wouldn't be happy if Budget wanted me to pay a monthly fee just in case I wanted to rent a car at some point.

There are similar situations on play whether you play or not, i.e. gym contracts, tanning contracts, pre-paid legal, etc.
I don't tend to sign up with them folk either.

Good points all. And points taken.

I'm not saying you're wrong, your complaint is totally legit, but you do pay most of your bills in advance whether or not you use those services that month...

True. If I don't watch my cable, I still have to pay. The difference being, I didn't have to pay up front just for the 'privilege' of seeing what channel Cox was going to offer me.

Also, paying $25 just to see if you can be their customer is a bit excessive if you think you literally may only use their service once or twice a year. Not to mention at least $5 month on top of that.

At the very least I should be able to see exactly what vehicles they are offering at their locations before paying anything. I'm not gonna pay $25 plus $5/month to find out that even though their site shows trucks available, they don't actually have any in Oklahoma City or near where I'd want to get one.

As I have mentioned multiple times, this service is not to compete with traditional car rental companies. It allows for another option. The more access to transportation a city has, the better the infrastructure. Car sharing is definitely not for everyone, but the population in need of car sharing is growing. Car sharing has not only allowed better access, but has allowed for many cities to save money on road construction. The more vehicles you have on the roads causes them to ware down faster. Considering most commutes are vehicles with only one passenger. It is obvious in Oklahoma, we have a large population of vehicles. We are also in the heart of the US, so our highways are populated with vehicles whose final destination is not Oklahoma.

The following are some facts that might make one think twice about owning multiple vehicles:
The average owned vehicle is only used for one hour each day.
The average owned vehicle costs about $715 per month.
The average life span of a vehicle is 8 years, so that would cost $715 per month = $8580 average per year = around $65,000 per lifespan.

All facts found at: Collaborative Fund (http://futureofcarsharing.com/), Consumer Reports Online (http://www.consumerreports.org)

Application fees are needed for this program because we are placing our members under our insurance. In order to be a member, you must have a clean driving record. We incur costs everytime someone signs up. That is a one time fee.

True. If I don't watch my cable, I still have to pay. The difference being, I didn't have to pay up front just for the 'privilege' of seeing what channel Cox was going to offer me.

Also, paying $25 just to see if you can be their customer is a bit excessive if you think you literally may only use their service once or twice a year. Not to mention at least $5 month on top of that.

At the very least I should be able to see exactly what vehicles they are offering at their locations before paying anything. I'm not gonna pay $25 plus $5/month to find out that even though their site shows trucks available, they don't actually have any in Oklahoma City or near where I'd want to get one.

There is a truck available on the OCU campus and a truck available at the Crowne Plaza hotel. Before you sign up, you can always get this information by calling 855-4TIMECAR.

There is a truck available on the OCU campus and a truck available at the Crowne Plaza hotel. Before you sign up, you can always get this information by calling 855-4TIMECAR.

Yeah, still not gonna pay $25 to apply and $5/month because I might use the service a couple of times a year. Cheaper for me to just rent from Home Depot when I need a truck or get at $14 trailer from Uhaul and hook up to my SUV.


As I have mentioned multiple times, this service is not to compete with traditional car rental companies.

Actually, I only see where you've mentioned it ONE OTHER TIME in this thread.

I get you don't want to compete with traditional car rental companies - but that simply means your business model counting on a subset of a subset (learned that from Shark Tank!)

That's fine, that you pass along the fee to check a person's driving history, but why make them pay it up front? Why not charge them when they want to be charged - prior to a rental.

If I want to rent today, then by all means charge me.

But, what if I have no idea when I want to rent, but I'd like to see what actual cars you have and where - why should I have to pay to see this basic information?

Okay, so I can call. But why make it a hassle for a potential customer?

I don't agree with the numbers you're spewing from Consumer Reports as you are totally ignoring the fact I'm going to sell my car in a couple of years and either make money or recoup most of my money.

I've got no beef with this business, I just don't get it for the typical Oklahoman and I personally see no interest in participating. No biggie. I guess it works for some people.

Yeah, still not gonna pay $25 to apply and $5/month because I might use the service a couple of times a year. Cheaper for me to just rent from Home Depot when I need a truck or get at $14 trailer from Uhaul and hook up to my SUV.



Actually, I only see where you've mentioned it ONE OTHER TIME in this thread.

I get you don't want to compete with traditional car rental companies - but that simply means your business model counting on a subset of a subset (learned that from Shark Tank!)

That's fine, that you pass along the fee to check a person's driving history, but why make them pay it up front? Why not charge them when they want to be charged - prior to a rental.

If I want to rent today, then by all means charge me.

But, what if I have no idea when I want to rent, but I'd like to see what actual cars you have and where - why should I have to pay to see this basic information?

Okay, so I can call. But why make it a hassle for a potential customer?

I don't agree with the numbers you're spewing from Consumer Reports as you are totally ignoring the fact I'm going to sell my car in a couple of years and either make money or recoup most of my money.

I've got no beef with this business, I just don't get it for the typical Oklahoman and I personally see no interest in participating. No biggie. I guess it works for some people.

How is calling any more of a hassle then typing in a search to check availability?

How is calling any more of a hassle then typing in a search to check availability?

Yeah, websites should probably just delete all their content and in it's place put....


"Since its just as easy to call and ask, we've replaced our content with our telephone number"


Not to mention, when you click on the locations and cars tabs its doesn't ever say "We're not gonna show you the cars we actually have and where they are located, if you really wanna know, call us."

Yeah, still not gonna pay $25 to apply and $5/month because I might use the service a couple of times a year. Cheaper for me to just rent from Home Depot when I need a truck or get at $14 trailer from Uhaul and hook up to my SUV.



Actually, I only see where you've mentioned it ONE OTHER TIME in this thread.

I get you don't want to compete with traditional car rental companies - but that simply means your business model counting on a subset of a subset (learned that from Shark Tank!)

That's fine, that you pass along the fee to check a person's driving history, but why make them pay it up front? Why not charge them when they want to be charged - prior to a rental.

If I want to rent today, then by all means charge me.

But, what if I have no idea when I want to rent, but I'd like to see what actual cars you have and where - why should I have to pay to see this basic information?

Okay, so I can call. But why make it a hassle for a potential customer?

I don't agree with the numbers you're spewing from Consumer Reports as you are totally ignoring the fact I'm going to sell my car in a couple of years and either make money or recoup most of my money.

I've got no beef with this business, I just don't get it for the typical Oklahoman and I personally see no interest in participating. No biggie. I guess it works for some people.

Thank you for all your input. It helps us make our service better. It is obvious you do not need our services, neither does the majority of Oklahoma's population. That being said, we are trying to help get more information out to a larger range of citizens. Who knows, maybe one day you will actually find a good reason to use our service. I plan on posting more information about a sharing ecomony in this forum.

Sid, you really think I don't get the concept, or are you just being snarky. (that's a rhetorical question - hence, no question mark)

I get the concept, I just don't see it applying to many people in the OKC metro and I'm free to explain why - which I did. Possibly hoping someone could shed some light I was missing to convince me otherwise (didn't happen - not even close).

You do get the concept of discretionary income and the fact that people can spend it as they find fits their lifestyle best and owning my own car does just that - as it does for most Oklahoman's. You save money by not owning a car and that's great. I personally find I save money and actually make money by owning a car. I actually couldn't function without one.

Could my wife function without a car (as in get to work and the store)? Yes. Would she find it a total inconvenience and not one worth not owning a car that literally costs her very little to own/operate. Yes again.

As for a 'subset of a subset' - Not really reality TV so much as economics 101.

Rent cars appeal to subset of the population (those needing to rent a car). TimeCar and the like only appeal to a subset of the previously mentioned subset - Can you (as you like to put it) grasp that?

Yeah, websites should probably just delete all their content and in it's place put....


"Since its just as easy to call and ask, we've replaced our content with our telephone number"


Not to mention, when you click on the locations and cars tabs its doesn't ever say "We're not gonna show you the cars we actually have and where they are located, if you really wanna know, call us."

Why do you have to be a condescending ass? I simply asked a question. No reason for you to get defensive when someone questions something you've asserted as fact.

I guess dialing 10 numbers and then listening for an answer really is that much harder than finding a website and going through a search and all that entails.

Why do you have to be a condescending ass? I simply asked a question. No reason for you to get defensive when someone questions something you've asserted as fact.

I guess dialing 10 numbers and then listening for an answer really is that much harder than finding a website and going through a search and all that entails.

Actually I provided a pretty clear example - one most people could see and go "oh yeah, putting the content on the website would be easier" (most people).

Would it have been better if I took 5 paragraphs to say the same thing?

I think most people would agree that it makes more sense to put the readily available information on the website (because obviously you're already there) then to say, "call us."


Lets take a restaurant for example and I want to know when they are open:

To get their phone number I'm going to "type in a search" or go straight to their website.

Regardless, now I'm at their website.

You're trying to convince me that its just a convenient for me to now dial their number and wait to speak to someone as it would be if they simply put their hours on the website to begin with?

I'd would need a car sitting outside my home in far NW OKC by 6:30am every weekday and one sitting outside my workplace in west OKC after 5:00 as well. The commute is about 24 miles each way, so say 50 miles a day at $1/mile comes to at least $250/week + membership fees = $1,000+/month.

I don't think I'm a good candidate. :D

Here is Time Car's orientation video that goes out to each new member.


http://youtu.be/4lakJPnHdqk

TimeCar's customers are most absolutely a subset of a subset.

You have the population (you with me so far). Then you have a portion of that population that say either recently decided to get rid of their car, previously used mass transit or rented from places like Avis (or a combination). A portion of that subset will find the services of TimeCar to their liking. Tada! Actually, you could further break TimeCar's customers down and they could become subsets, of subsets, of subsets, of subsets....... (you get the picture) I could play your favorite card and do the "I made/make my living in (insert whatever - I'll go with marketing since that was my profession for many years and still is in many respects), so I must know more than you!"

Which is fine. Many successful companies target a very tiny percentage of the buying public.

This is a discussion board, so, I was discussing.

I didn't 'reframe' anything. The discussion was the service and I made my argument why the service wouldn't work for me and probably many others. You pointed out where it works for you and your lifestyle. That doesn't make either of us 'right' or 'wrong.'

Should every thread come with a disclaimer.... "If this doesn't directly apply to you then please do not respond."

Regardless of the real or perceived need, part of my issue was with the general way the business was being presented to the public. I really don't care what the product or service is ..... I was pointing out that regardless it doesn't make sense to charge people before they can even make an informed decision if the service is right for them (I even used a completely unrelated service [Cox Cable] as an example). I may not need a mini cooper to go back and forth to (whatever), but I might like to be able to rent a truck for an hour or two one or more times a month. Why not put all the information online - like do you really have trucks in Oklahoma City and where are they?

The debate was definitely revolving around other services like Avis and Budget because others were comparing TimeCar to them and their prices.

Just because i don't agree with a monthly membership for a service such as this doesn't in any way infer I don't 'get the concept of a monthly membership.' (you do get that concept, right?)

I think we can both agree we are being asses at this point, but it passes the time until something else distracts me.

Just out of curiosity, it seems like the these cars would be easy targets for theft, with the keys left in the car. Is there much of that in the more higher-usage areas or are the cars disabled without the membership card (or something like that)?

Just out of curiosity, it seems like the these cars would be easy targets for theft, with the keys left in the car. Is there much of that in the more higher-usage areas or are the cars disabled without the membership card (or something like that)?

Thanks for the question -

Upon your membership you are given a smart card that has a unique chip ID specifically for you. Once you make a reservation, it is sent through SMS to the vehicles onboard computer letting it know the members unique identifier. The cars ignition is disabled until you log into the vehicle. So essentially the vehicle will not start unless the ID's match.

If a person saw the keys and was to break the window in an attempt to steal the car, it wouldn't start. This has only happened once at our OCU campus location. Let it also be noted that the fine OCU police depart was dispatched at the time of break-in and an arrest was made!



-bsj

Thanks for the info. For what it's worth, although I don't feel it would be a good fit for me, I can see how this would work well for some. I hope TimeCar does well here.

Regardless of the real or perceived need, part of my issue was with the general way the business was being presented to the public. I really don't care what the product or service is ..... I was pointing out that regardless it doesn't make sense to charge people before they can even make an informed decision if the service is right for them (I even used a completely unrelated service [Cox Cable] as an example). I may not need a mini cooper to go back and forth to (whatever), but I might like to be able to rent a truck for an hour or two one or more times a month. Why not put all the information online - like do you really have trucks in Oklahoma City and where are they?


Mr. Bates, thank you for comments. Again, we totally understand this concept/service is not for you or your friends.

First I'd like to point out that it is industry standard to charge an application fee and a membership fee. Let me go in dept exactly what these fees go towards. The $25 application fee helps TimeCar offset our cost of running a drivers record check. Because we do not require our members to have an existing insurance policy, we place them on our insurance without additional cost. Meaning, we are not going to pressure sell you $7-15 a day for insurance like car rental companies do. In order to place a member on our insurance, we are required to run this drivers record check. Back to the application fee...

In fact, TimeCar loses money by only charging $25 for the application fee because the actual cost to run this record check is $28.50. So basically we are -$3.50 (not including administrative fees) right off the bat. Usually a person is not going to apply for a TimeCar membership if they only plan to use it 2-3 times a year. In fact, our average member uses a vehicle 2-3 times a week! And as a response to your comment - the majority of our members only sign up if they know they will use the service. We are as transparent as a company gets. No hidden fees, etc. Cox Cable is not a fair comparison, two totally different industries. We are in the transportation industry. Again, we provide a service that is only available to our members and may not be for everyone.

OK, now lets talk about membership fees. TimeCar and all other car sharing companies are membership based. Most car sharing companies charge $50 or more a year. TimeCar memberships are $5/monthly or you can pay for 10 months, get 2 free ($50yr). We offer the low monthly fee option for those that do not want to adjust their budgets for a month. This is a great option for our university markets as sometimes college kids have little room in their budgets. Only a few car sharing companies offer the low monthly memberships, but the popularity and success is catching on. The membership fees essentially go into a pool amongst the members to offset our cost of fuel and insurance. It is important to know that as a member of TimeCar, insurance, maintenance, gas, parking and all other vehicle ownership fees are included in your membership.

So let me address what seems like your biggest concern. Our website list the types of vehicles we offer our members. It would be difficult to display (accurately) which vehicles are at which locations because of certain situations. I will go into that in a second. As a member, when you log into your account you can see what types of vehicles are at which locations. We periodically move certain vehicles for members upon requests. In fact, I had a request for the Nissan Frontier truck to be at OCU this week. We also look at the demographics of our locations. For instance, our locations in West Texas have a need for high clearance vehicles -- our Deep Deuce location, because of families, use Sedans -- college market prefers smaller coupes/hatches. Trust me, we do our homework on what works and the needs of our members. However, there is always that one exception and we are always willing to accommodate. OK, back to why it is difficult to display vehicles real time position. We are a small local company with a staff of 3. We do not operate on a large budget. To own the software to properly display these vehicles for real time positioning on the front end of our website is very expensive. In fact, the only car sharing companies that are doing it are backed by their large car rental operations or manufacturers. (i.e. Zipcar-Avis, Car2Go-Daimler) Industry wide, only a few offer real time positioning. Again, it's the large multi-million dollar companies that can afford to do this.

Why can we offer real time positioning when someone logs into their account and not when a non-member looks at the website....? Simple, when a member logs into their account, they are redirected to our software providers site - the leader in car sharing software. This section we pay licensing fees. With a staff of 3, we are constantly busy with new memberships, maintenance of the vehicles, etc. One day there may be a Mazda 3 sitting in your near by lot, the next day a Mini Cooper because it needed to go into service. We get to know our members and what they like and prefer to drive so we do our best.

Mr Bates, we are doing our best to better our community that we (and you) live in by offering an alternative source of transportation to those that choose. Car sharing is just one choice among others in this city.... bike share, walking, transit, uber, taxi, etc. We are not here ridicule those who choose to own a vehicle and we hope for the same. We are a "subset" of many alternative options in our city. Again, thank you for your comments and I hope I was able to explain TimeCar and the industry better. Please feel free to reach out to me personally if you have any questions or concerns. Perhaps coffee at a local establishment?


bsj

Oh, and to add to the last post... We are hoping to offer this real time positioning feature sometime in the future. I understand its benefits and advantages. Huge THANK YOU to all for your input.

bsj

Car sharing is definitely not for everyone, but the population in need of car sharing is growing. Car sharing has not only allowed better access, but has allowed for many cities to save money on road construction.

I understand the theory behind that and don't disagree but you state that this has happened. Do you have any specific evidence about a city that saved money on road construction due to a car sharing service?

I like the idea and I would use it if I lived in an area of the city where I could live, work and play in a small area. Then the only time I would need a car would be to see family or make a recreational trip. I actually lived car free during my first couple of years in the miltary (Gulfpor-Biloxi which has a very good mass transit system) After about two years it got old with having to catch the bus at a certain time or relying on other people to get around or when I needed to buy something that could not be carried on a bus.

Today I drive a Ford F150 and I drive about 30 miles a day. I can make my gas last two weeks. Just simply because I drive casual at or just below the speed limit and I schedule my errand running on my commute to and from work so that I do not have to a lot of driving on my days off and after I get home from work. I also love the freedom of having a vehilcle at my disposal any time I need it especially on weekends and holidays when car sharing services are likely to be booked up or only available for certain time periods so more drivers can have access to them.

Have to applaud Sid and the TimeCar rep for being so patient and diplomatic with bbates. Not sure I would've done the same. BBates' posts do reflect how foreign the "urban" lifestyle really is to OKC though, so in a way those posts are quite enlightening. Assuming OKC's core continues to fill up, I wouldn't at all mind being able to get rid of a car, especially if the streetcar becomes actually usable to get to OUHSC, uptown, etc. I suspect fiancee and I will always need one - much easier to go the mall, go golfing, etc with a car available. But it sure would save a bunch of money to only have one.

Owning a car really is not that expensive. We just think it is because we are paying more for gas then we did in years past. However, that was a time when Europe and the Americas were the primary users of gasoline. Now that Asia has exploded with personal vehicles price is going to contiue to go up. Still $3 a gallon is not all that bad. Most of us spend more on meals out during the course of a two week period than we do on gasoline. Since I have paid off my vehicle my vehicle costs are much less. Vehicle ownership is still very afforable. Especially if you drive an older car, properly maintain it and carry only the amount of insurance you need not what the insurance agent tells you should have. You have to remember the agent is making a commission so of course he wants you to spend the most amount of money.

The basis for determining vehicle ownership cost is from people who study such things every year. Correct it may not apply to everyone specifically, but it's a good guide:

AAA's Your Driving Cost 2013 (http://exchange.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Your-Driving-Costs-2013.pdf)

Owning a car really is not that expensive. We just think it is because we are paying more for gas then we did in years past. However, that was a time when Europe and the Americas were the primary users of gasoline. Now that Asia has exploded with personal vehicles price is going to contiue to go up. Still $3 a gallon is not all that bad. Most of us spend more on meals out during the course of a two week period than we do on gasoline. Since I have paid off my vehicle my vehicle costs are much less. Vehicle ownership is still very afforable. Especially if you drive an older car, properly maintain it and carry only the amount of insurance you need not what the insurance agent tells you should have. You have to remember the agent is making a commission so of course he wants you to spend the most amount of money.

Well to people of adequate means and who are used to the expense of having a car, it's just something we're used to. It should be noted that no other country in the world is as car-centric as the USA (and maybe Canada). Nearly everywhere else, people have other forms of transit available - buses, bikes, trains, maybe even (gulp!) their own two feet. Even small towns in Europe and Asia are built compact and very walkable. This needing a car to do even the most basic of human functions is a uniquely American problem, and makes us disproportionately reliant on a non-renewable resource to keep up our lifestyles. If we even had the option of giving up cars (or even one car - or even driving less) - I suspect attitudes would change. What if you could spend that thousands per year you spend on your car on a nice vacation (or two) instead? I'd do that in a heartbeat.

Not to be overly dramatic but many of those cities and towns in Europe/asia were around before America as we know it was even born. They built cities to be able to walk in. Besides NYC and Boston, most American cities boomed around the car

Have to applaud Sid and the TimeCar rep for being so patient and diplomatic with bbates. Not sure I would've done the same. BBates' posts do reflect how foreign the "urban" lifestyle really is to OKC though, so in a way those posts are quite enlightening. Assuming OKC's core continues to fill up, I wouldn't at all mind being able to get rid of a car, especially if the streetcar becomes actually usable to get to OUHSC, uptown, etc. I suspect fiancee and I will always need one - much easier to go the mall, go golfing, etc with a car available. But it sure would save a bunch of money to only have one.

Thank you for the compliments. We actually do try and listen to all types of car owners. Not everyone is a candidate for car sharing and we don't expect everyone to sell their cars and start sharing. We simply want everyone to have that option. We also believe that our city should be giving all their citizens the option of a better transit system. I myself am a car owner and my car has been paid off for many years, but my car is getting old. It needs more maintinance and is not very reliable. I have used our city transit system which is very inadequate for a city our size. Those who can afford car ownership have no idea what it is like not to have that option. I live just off of 23rd street, so I see a large amount of people who do not own a car. Some of these people even have a hard time using the bus system. These are the people we shame for not having a good job, or shame for having to live off food stamps. When really we should help give them more options for transporation. Our city bikeshare program, spokiesokc.com, is a success and is growing fast. That is another option our citizens can take advantage of. So if we as a city had access to bus, street car, light rail, car share and bike share, we would all be saving money.

no1cub17, if you have a connection that we could communicate with at OUHSC, we would love to have a few vehicles on that campus. I know there are many out of state families using that facility for their healthcare that could use our services.

-RWB

Not to be overly dramatic but many of those cities and towns in Europe/asia were around before America as we know it was even born. They built cities to be able to walk in. Besides NYC and Boston, most American cities boomed around the car

This is absolutely true - the east coast cities - NYC, Boston, DC, even Chicago - are built much differently from OKC, Houston, Dallas, LA, etc. However just because European/Asian cities are older doesn't mean they build any differently today. One of the world's striking ironies to me is that Japan - a country which pumps out quality cars by the millions - may be the easiest place in the world to live without a car. And that's not going to change anytime soon.

What most people fail to realize is that the automobile is a luxury. It falls into the category of air conditioning, hot water and indoor plumbing. Technically you don't need them however, they can make life a lot more enjoyable and easier if you have them. The thing that always gets me with this and many other arguments these days is that why care about what everyone else is doing. If you want to go carless, go for it. It can be done. Expecting the world to change to meet your needs is just crazy. Think of the thing you hate doing, imagine if the laws were changed to force you do that one thing more often if not everyday or hourly. We have to undestand our utopia can be a living hell for someone else.

Don't get me wrong I like the idea of Mass Transit. I would probably use it if it were readily available. II would not use it everyday, but, I would use it to go to an event downtown to the traffic, or run an errand downtown (courthouse, city hall, etc.). I love my automobile and I will own one for years to come (probably until the day I die).

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