Need A Ride?

by Daniel Brook

Only a year ago, PhillyCarShare was just an idea. Today, the nonprofit group that lets people rent cars by the hour has vehicles available for pickup at 10 locations. With a new $260,000 grant from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), the group will add over 50 locations in the next three years.

"What the grantmakers want is a reduction in air pollution," explains Clayton Lane, a PhillyCarShare co-founder. Since members pay by the ride, there's an economic incentive to use cars only out of necessity, like for a furniture-shopping outing. Since members regularly walk, bike or take public transportation, car emissions are reduced. But Lane says the grant will also help his group meet two other goals: Serving low- and middle-income communities in Philadelphia and linking car-sharing with transit.

Currently, the nonprofit's 10 locations are in well-to-do Center City and University City neighborhoods, but the goal has always been to serve the entire city. "It's been our policy from the beginning that we're based in Philadelphia and we are committed to serving our own city and that means serving all parts of the city. Most of Philadelphia is middle- or low-income, so that's where we're going," Lane says. In cities where car-sharing is operated by for-profit companies, like in Boston and New York, there's little incentive to serve lower-income neighborhoods where residents can't pay the company's higher rates. (PhillyCarShare members pay a $25 fee to join, a $10 monthly administrative fee and a $350 refundable deposit. Cars can be reserved by phone or Internet and cost $3.90 an hour plus 39 cents a mile, which includes gas.)

Placing vehicles at SEPTA hubs like Frankford Terminal and Norristown Transportation Center is also an expansion goal. This will help members extend the transit system's reach and minimize the trip costs. Lane says SEPTA was "supportive of the idea of linking car-sharing to transit. They realize it increases transit ridership and increases the places you can get to with transit."

"It was sort of an innovative project," says DVRPC transportation planner Elizabeth Schoonmaker. "It was different from things that have been funded in the past," she says, explaining that most projects funded this year were for road and rail improvements or bike trails.

Even though the group has no formal relationship with the transit agency, SEPTA spokesperson Richard Maloney says, "We wish them well," since they're providing a benefit for the system's riders.