“You might get in each time and find the preset radio stations have been changed,” Welch said. Zipcar President Keefer Welch admits sharing a car is not exactly like owning one. “They all work from home or ride their bikes, but every now and then need a car to get somewhere fast.” “People come to us who don’t need to drive to work every day,” said Maren Souders, spokeswoman for Carsharing Portland Inc. Others are in Seattle, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The first American car-sharing company opened in Portland, Ore., in 1998. The Swiss company’s success was duplicated in big cities in Austria, France, Sweden and Germany, and the idea spread overseas to Canada in 1995. The company now has 1,300 cars at 800 locations around Switzerland, and serves more than 33,000 customers, according to the company’s Web site. The idea of car sharing was spawned in Switzerland in 1987, when Mobility Car Sharing put its first car on the road in the traffic-congested city of Lucerne. Other companies charge $40 to $50 a day, plus additional charges for mileage and insurance. But for people who just need to go to the grocery store, a doctor’s appointment or visit a friend out of town, car sharing can be cheaper than renting a car.Īt Budget Rent-A-Car, a rental car in Boston costs about $45 a day. The annual membership is $75 a year, plus a $300 deposit.Ĭar-sharing services, whose hourly prices range from less than $2 to $9, can get pricey for people who drive long distances or take the car on an overnight trip.
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