Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Car share club

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On 1/02/2003 11:29 AM, "Fred H Olson" <fholson [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
>> But do you have any agreement with them as a community? I'm talking to them
>> about putting a car in our parking lot for the exclusive use of our
>> community members.
> 
> Why does the car need to be "for the exclusive use of our community
> members" ?  Would it be parked in a place accessible to the public?  If
> the scheduling algorithms work well, more use (by non members) could make
> for better service, use might justify two cars for example.

If the car is parked in our parking lot which requires a code for entry ,
residents would not be comfortable with "strangers" going in and out to get
the car. Flexcars here are not stored on public land as far as I know.

> Are all uses round trip (you have to return car where you got it)?  If so,
> what advantage does doing a car coop thru them offer / why not do your
> own? 

All trips are round trip. The advantage is that no one in the community has
to handle the scheduling or maintain the car. So far this has been the
obstacle to widespread car sharing. People do borrow each others cars for
occasional use. At the moment our hands are completely full just scheduling
commonhouse use and maintenance. I don't see that becoming routine or under
control for some time. Adding a car would be a nightmare.

The Flexcar system is so convenient for scheduling via phone or the web and
they have a system for maintenance, gasing, etc. Letting the specialists do
it is easier unless you have a personal need for a car full time.

Sharon
-- 
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org

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