Philly Car Share

**chudclay** · 08-08-2011, 08:34 PM

Tax issue spurs PhillyCarShare to sell to Enterprise | Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/08/2011

**BarryG** · 08-08-2011, 10:36 PM

I really hope they don't take away the pods near my house.

**radiocolin** · 08-08-2011, 10:39 PM

Do residents get their street parking back now?

**Moonraker** · 08-08-2011, 11:29 PM

If they are #3 where is Zipcar and who is the other one?

**BarryG** · 08-08-2011, 11:38 PM

Originally Posted by Moonraker

If they are #3 where is Zipcar and who is the other one?

I think they are referring to a ranking of non-profit, locally owned car sharing programs like these: Philadelphia Car Sharing - Hourcar - PhillyCarShare

**biker718** · 08-09-2011, 08:12 AM

they pay for those spots so No...maybe join and get another car off the street there are way too many cars in this city as is

**eldondre** · 08-09-2011, 09:39 AM

Please keep in mind that all existing memberships and reservations will be transferred with no interruption of service. And both fuel and 24-hour roadside assistance will be part of your PhillyCarShare membership. In addition, the following enhancements and changes will be coming soon:

Newer cars
More rate options
More vehicles in more neighborhoods
Streamlined driver approval process

from the email. who cares about it being a non-profit except ass sniffers. if it results in improved service and competition it's good. it would be nice if a local company made good but pcs completely screwed themselves early on with reckless expansion and poor buying techniques (as I found, I don't really like the prius as a car)

**6enny** · 08-09-2011, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by BarryG

I really hope they don't take away the pods near my house.

They claim that they're adding spots, rather than removing them.

They asked for suggestions of new spots be sent to info@phillycarshare.org. I'm asking that the spot on 24th and college be re-added as it seems to be gone now.

**6enny** · 08-09-2011, 09:50 AM

Originally Posted by radiocolin

Do residents get their street parking back now?

I'd warrant that without Zipcar and PCS there would be more cars on the street as each car is used by multiple families. So be careful what you wish for.

**JakeL** · 08-09-2011, 09:57 AM

Originally Posted by radiocolin

Do residents get their street parking back now?

If your dream came true, that Philly CarShare was eliminated and you 'got your street parking back,' you would find yourself in a much worse situation. The average carshare replaces 4-6 vehicles (See supporting documentation below). Selecting the median of 5 vehicles, and 13,000 Philly CarShare members, we end up with a total of 65,000 vehicles abated through Philly CarShare. Given the average size of a vehicle at 13.5 feet, this represents 877,500 linear feet of parking spaces saved through carsharing. 877,500 ft is equivalent to 166 miles, or filling up all 4 lanes of Broad St, bumper to bumper, from the stadiums, through South Philly, up to Center City, past North Philly, Temple, past Route 1, up to Fern Rock and finally to Cheltenham Ave, nearly 4 times over. Of course, this is only for Philly CarShare, so this does not include ZipCar, which would only further serve to illustrate this to a greater extent

*See The Impact of Carsharing on Household Vehicle Ownership and the supporting statistical analysi.

**biker718** · 08-09-2011, 10:01 AM

Originally Posted by 6enny

They claim that they're adding spots, rather than removing them.

They asked for suggestions of new spots be sent to info@phillycarshare.org. I'm asking that the spot on 24th and college be re-added as it seems to be gone now.

They are replacing old cars with new, I'm sure your pod will be back up and running soon. It happened in my neighborhood and it was worth the slight inconvenience to get a brand new car for the same price.

**BenDee** · 08-09-2011, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by JakeL

Selecting the median of 5 vehicles, and 13,000 Philly CarShare members, we end up with a total of 65,000 vehicles abated through Philly CarShare.

You used the wrong metric - given just over 200 PCS cars and 5 vehicles removed per car, there are over 1,000 cars removed, not 65,000. Still not bad - the net of 800 cars (1,000 cars removed + 200 PCS cars added) no longer parking frees up 16,000 linear feet, or about 38 lanes of parking on your average city block (500 feet long minus 70 feet not used for the end of the block, fire hydrants, etc).

Mods - can we merge this thread with the one in Philly Transport & Septa? This is the wrong forum for this.

**radiocolin** · 08-09-2011, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by biker718

they pay for those spots so No...maybe join and get another car off the street there are way too many cars in this city as is

I used PCS for 4 months when I moved to Center City in April 2009. Then I realized that if you own a used car and park on the street, you only need 3 trips per month before it's no longer cost effective. $66/mo for insurance or a minimum of $20/trip, plus the monthly fee, and you're constantly watching the clock, stressing at every red light.

The **** PCS pulled where they implemented a monthly fee that you had to opt out of, via email at 5pm on a Friday, was enough.

I got my Saturn out of my parents garage, paid for street parking, and was very happy until I moved out of the city.

**JakeL** · 08-09-2011, 11:22 AM

Originally Posted by BenDee

You used the wrong metric - given just over 200 PCS cars and 5 vehicles removed per car, there are over 1,000 cars removed, not 65,000. Still not bad - the net of 800 cars (1,000 cars removed + 200 PCS cars added) no longer parking frees up 16,000 linear feet, or about 38 lanes of parking on your average city block (500 feet long minus 70 feet not used for the end of the block, fire hydrants, etc).

Mods - can we merge this thread with the one in Philly Transport & Septa? This is the wrong forum for this.

argg! I thought that sounded like a crazy amount. So much for trying to sound like I knew what I was talking about

**BarryG** · 08-09-2011, 11:24 AM

Originally Posted by radiocolin

I used PCS for 4 months when I moved to Center City in April 2009. Then I realized that if you own a used car and park on the street, you only need 3 trips per month before it's no longer cost effective. $66/mo for insurance or a minimum of $20/trip, plus the monthly fee, and you're constantly watching the clock, stressing at every red light.

The **** PCS pulled where they implemented a monthly fee that you had to opt out of, via email at 5pm on a Friday, was enough.

I got my Saturn out of my parents garage, paid for street parking, and was very happy until I moved out of the city.

Did you factor in gas and maintenance? Not to mention the cost of the car. And if you used PCS 3 times a month you would have saved money with the $15 monthly fee (discounted if you pay a year up front). Not to mention no risk of theft or damage to the vehicle, time spent taking car in for inspection, etc. Owning a car makes sense for a lot of people but your math does not add up.

**BenDee** · 08-09-2011, 11:36 AM

Originally Posted by radiocolin

I used PCS for 4 months when I moved to Center City in April 2009. Then I realized that if you own a used car and park on the street, you only need 3 trips per month before it's no longer cost effective. $66/mo for insurance or a minimum of $20/trip, plus the monthly fee, and you're constantly watching the clock, stressing at every red light.

The **** PCS pulled where they implemented a monthly fee that you had to opt out of, via email at 5pm on a Friday, was enough.

I got my Saturn out of my parents garage, paid for street parking, and was very happy until I moved out of the city.

I'm not sure I follow - it seems like you are paying for insurance on top of the $1,000,000 coverage that PCS gives you. Is that correct?

**radiocolin** · 08-09-2011, 11:51 AM

Originally Posted by BenDee

I'm not sure I follow - it seems like you are paying for insurance on top of the $1,000,000 coverage that PCS gives you. Is that correct?

PCS was a monthly fee, plus usually about $20 minimum for a trip.
Parking my own, paid-for car on the street was $35/year for the permit and $66/mo for insurance.

My own car was a far better deal if I used it 3 or more times per month.

**radiocolin** · 08-09-2011, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by BarryG

Did you factor in gas and maintenance? Not to mention the cost of the car. And if you used PCS 3 times a month you would have saved money with the $15 monthly fee (discounted if you pay a year up front). Not to mention no risk of theft or damage to the vehicle, time spent taking car in for inspection, etc. Owning a car makes sense for a lot of people but your math does not add up.

The car was already paid for. I left it at my parents and let registration lapse because I thought PCS was cheaper.

Gas was a $30 tank maybe every 3 weeks for my trips around the city.

The car rarely needs maintenance beyond an oil change.

It was never broken into.

The car is inspected once per year while I was at work.

You can spin any situation to sound more inconvenient. For me, my own car parked on the street was cheaper. I also found scheduling my car usage hourly to be inconvenient.

Car sharing had no advantage for me. And judging by PCS's financial woes, it's not very viable for others, or as a business.

**LUCas** · 08-09-2011, 12:26 PM

Originally Posted by radiocolin

And judging by PCS's financial woes, it's not very viable for others, or as a business.

PCS financial woes have to do with their managment. Or do you think Enterprise is in the habit of buying crappy businesses? Zipcar is doing fine. It was Zipcar who provided cleaner, better maintained vehicles supplied with gas cards and with customer service who actually answers the phone that killed PCS since they weren't able to compete with that.

No, it's not for everyone, but your spin on how inconvenient it was for you doesn't apply to me.

**BarryG** · 08-09-2011, 12:30 PM

Originally Posted by radiocolin

The car was already paid for. I left it at my parents and let registration lapse because I thought PCS was cheaper.

Gas was a $30 tank maybe every 3 weeks for my trips around the city.

The car rarely needs maintenance beyond an oil change.

It was never broken into.

The car is inspected once per year while I was at work.

You can spin any situation to sound more inconvenient. For me, my own car parked on the street was cheaper. I also found scheduling my car usage hourly to be inconvenient.

Car sharing had no advantage for me. And judging by PCS's financial woes, it's not very viable for others, or as a business.

Point taken but if one thing breaks on your car, the math is shot.