Cars to Share Come to Town
By Mary Helt Gavin, Evanston RoundTable
April 28, 2005
For those who need an automobile only for the occasional errand, the City's Maple Avenue garage may house the "family" car. The Center for Neighborhood Technology brought its affiliate, I-GO Car-sharing, to Evanston last week, through which members of I-GO can rent a car for a few hours, paying a flat hourly fee and leaving insurance, fuel and car maintenance costs behind. Like the Center for Neighborhood Technology, I-GO is a not-for-profit organization.
Car-sharing has been popular in Europe and came to the United States about six years ago, said Sharon Feigon, president of I-GO. "It is a supplement to public transportation, walking and biking - one more transportation option for those who do not own cars but opt for public transportation yet who occasionally need the use of a private car." She added, "The number one destination [for I-GO members in Chicago] is the grocery store."
Membership in I-GO is $75 for the first year, renewable at $25 per year afterward, said Richard Kosmacher, sales and marketing manager for I-GO. Members of I-GO receive a computer key-card that opens any of I-GO's 27 vehicles. When a member books a specific time for a specific vehicle, she or he then receives a PIN number that will allow the car to start, he said. The global information system, or GIS, within the car tracks the mileage and location, so there is no paperwork at the end of the trip; the driver simply leaves the car at its designated spot in the Maple Avenue garage. The driving records of potential members are screened, he added; "We want only safe drivers." However, he said, drivers of I-GO cars are covered though I-GO's insurance.
While the technology and the energy-saving go to I-GO, the effort is a collaborative one among the City, the State and the federal governments. The grassroots organization Evanston's Transportation Future helped spur the project as well, said Ms. Feigon.
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky was able to get the program more than $400,000 in federal CMAQ (congestion mitigation and air quality improvement) funds for I-GO's 27 cars.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony April 25, she said, "The energy bill just passed in the House was a 20th-century bill, with major tax breaks to oil and nuclear power that will result in air pollution and global warming. Here we have an opportunity to reduce fuel usage, congestion, air pollution and cost to the consumer - a win-win-win situation."
Mayor Lorraine Morton said, "This is another first for the North Shore. [Since] this program is successful in Chicago, think how successful it will be in Evanston."
State Representative Julie Hamos, who heads the House Committee on Mass Transit, noted that just a week before, "We were at a press conference, making the connection between [mass] transportation and economic development. I see I-GO as a complement to our transit system, an excellent ways for an urban community like Evanston to help save on congestion and air pollution. This will enhance the transit system. It's exciting that I-GO came first to Evanston." Jonathan Perman, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber would notify local businesses about the program. He added he hoped local automotive businesses "would be interested in servicing the cars, so we could have an only-Evanston serviced and maintained car."
David Jennings, the City's director of public works, said, "I think it's a good program. I'd be interested to see how many customers they have. It's a great location, in the middle of Evanston." He said the City's contribution of the two parking spaces amounts to $1,800 per year.
Debbie Hillman, a member of Evanston's Energy Future, said the car-sharing program "has the potential to solve that middle ground: So many people who wouldn't consider public transportation and so many problems with cars." I-GO is not designed to compete with traditional rental car companies, said Ms. Feigon. The typical I-GO customer would need a car only a few hours a week. Anyone looking for weekend or longer rentals should go for traditional car rental. She said I-GO has a relationship with Enterprise Rent-a-Car for its members.
Ms. Feigon also said the cost savings is the differential between owning a car, with maintenance at a cost of $6,700 per year, and using public transportation and car-sharing, at a cost of about $2,300 per year and added, "Often members in car-sharing programs give up the ownership of cars, usually after about six months."
Evanston resident Peter Nicholson, who attended the ribbon-cutting, said, "If you'd had this program when I first moved to Evanston, it would have delayed my car ownership by several years."
Anyone interested in learning more about I-GO can visit www.I-GO-cars.org.
