Saves You Money: 3 Car Share Opps

GOING GREEN?  Car Sharing Programs From CityFlitz, ZipCar and AutoShare

Regardless of your business, we all have transportation needs.  I think at startup, when budgets are tight is the best time to start going Green – reducing waste (or money and resources) on the costs associated with business anyway and finding a way to do it with reduced CO2, sweetens the deal even further! 

If you’re operating and already have a coporate fleet or staff with cars of their own, consider testing one of these economical & sustainable options to see if they can save you money on a small scale first (compare their results to an existing fleet or cars owned & operated by staff).

Car sharing of any type is definately a more Green and sustainable way to approach transportation; if it could also save you significant amounts of money over the long term, why wouldn’t you try it?

CityFlitz

CityFlitz is a Car Share made up of hybrid, electric and low-consumption vehicles.  The car share offer is very affordable for the new business bootstrapper who will be driving frequently in high population areas.  They have a high price of entry ($350+ in new membership fees to get started), but an almost unbelieveably low rate after that – only $1/day.  The car you drive is branded with national advertising messages, so your cost to rent the car is subsidized by the advertisers who benefit from your 30km+ of daily driving in and around your city.  As long as you’re OK with driving a car with ads on them (even for your own business), thier daily rate can’t be beat.

• Toronto, Monteal and Calgary
• Primary Feature: $1/day Car Rentals
• Main Drawbacks: $350+ New Member fees, limited GTA area driving allowed, only a few GTA locations
• Trick for BIG Thinkers: A startup with some funding and willingness to consider a long-term commitment - have CityFlitz brand a vehicle with your business brand message and be sure to reserve that car for your own business driving needs
• SMALL BUSINESS Click Here: $1/day Car Share!
• ADVERTISERS Click Here: Inquire about rates.

ZipCar

ZipCars is the company I joined when planning DH Partners Media Planning, because they have two cars parked right outside my apartment on Eglinton Avenue- it’s virtually like having a car of my own in the undrground garage.  I thought that at around $10/hr including all insurance, gas, etc. I would probably grab a car every couple of days just to run to the store or a few errands around the city.

I rarely plan ahead the time/day of my errands, so anytime I’ve gone to book a car at the last minute to “run out” for something, there is never a car available.  They must be popular in my neighborhood, so for me it means I rarely get any value from my membership.

I only use ZipCars when I’m heading out of town for the weekend or I’m planing to make a day of running around.  Not all ZipCars are hybrid, electric or low-consumtion vehicles – so it doesn’t seem to be a more green option compared to a regular car rental with online reservation, auto pick-up/drop-off system and locations virtually everywhere.  Daily rates are comparable too.

• 50+ Cities in North America and UK
• Primary Feature: It is SO convenient to reserve live online, walk from my door to the car and then go!
• Main Drawbacks: They are popular too, so you have to reserve ZipCars at least a few days in advance.  You’ll also want to predict your schedule very accurately, because the penalties for late return and reservation cancellations can add up quickly on top of your daily max of around $70/day

AutoShare

The folks who pioneered car sharing over the past decade, paving the way for companies offering options, AutoShare is the only one to have partnered with Zero Footprint, to let members offset carbon emissions.   The ZeroFootprint stamp of approval makes them the most green option of the three, in my mind.

• Cities: Toronto
• Rates are comparable to most car-share and rental options
• Primary feature: Partnered with Zero Footprint
• Main drawback: Most cars are located in primarily downtown location

It’s good to know that a car ownership is not a requirement anymore and it’s easier now than ever to green your business, if you want to!  Save money and help save the environment in one simple step.