Baltimore City plans to provide a non-profit car rental service.

Baltimore to implement car-sharing program

By: Husain Danish

Posted: 12/4/08

The Baltimore City parking authority recently announced plans to start a car sharing program in the Baltimore area, with a test run beginning in the coming months.

Baltimore officials hope the nonprofit car-sharing service, which will be called Baltimore CarShare, will reduce the overall number of cars used in the city, reducing traffic and demands for parking.

"We see this as an extension of public transit," Special Assistant for the Parking Authority of Baltimore City Tiffany Janes said. "Our members would rely more heavily on other forms of transportation for most of their trips and, when needed, the cars will be available for use. It will be another way of getting around without owning a vehicle full time."

The program is set to begin early next year. Individuals over 18 will be able to register and become members.

Subscribers will pay a monthly fee as well as a $4 to $5 per-hour charge. ZipCar, a private car-sharing company, currently charges $9.25 to $9.75 per-hour. Parking Authority officials are currently considering whether to also include a per-mile charge.

Members will be required to reserve the car prior to use and return the vehicle to a designated location after use. Maintenance and insurance costs will be covered by the company.

The non-profit Baltimore CarShare program has been in planning for over two years. In 2006, Baltimore officials contacted the two major car-sharing companies at the time, FlexCar and ZipCar, with regards to possibly expanding either company's service in the Baltimore area. Only FlexCar responded back.

The company sent a proposal to Baltimore Parking Authority asking for certain guarantees upfront including a requirement that the cars be used at least 1000 hours per month.

"I would definitely use it. This sounds like a great concept and something like this could improve transportation in Baltimore, but I would consider public transportation or mass transit," Program Coordinator of Public Education Partnership Corps Aaron Soto-Karlin said.

A preliminary deal was made between Baltimore City and FlexCar in mid-2007 and plans were made to have 20 to 24 vehicles available by the end of 2007. But in October 2007, FlexCar was bought out by ZipCar and the companies merged.

ZipCar contacted Baltimore officials and indicated that it did not intend to continue with FlexCar's previous deal with the city.

"They said that they did not want to enter any new markets at the time," Janes said. "We were disappointed at first."

ZipCar was unavailable to comment on the matter. The company continues to maintain several vehicles at Hopkins.

Baltimore Parking Authority began looking into the possibility of forming a non-profit car sharing program, such as the Philadelphia car sharing program called PhillyCarShare. The program was founded in Fall 2002 by five Philadelphia residents. In April 2004, the Philadelphia city government began funding the program, becoming the first city to fund a car sharing program. PhillyCarShare currently reports over 50,000 members.

In early 2008, Baltimore officials contacted the Philadelphia officials so seek guidance and support on the project. Though the company was unable to send representatives to Baltimore, they went through with the plan, modeling the car-sharing program after the Philadelphia company.

"This will be a good form of public transportation. It will help people who don't have a car and go to many places at a time with no hassle," sophomore Alex Satin said.

Parking Authority officials submitted the official paperwork to the state of Maryland on Sept. 24 and plans to hire an executive director by the end of the year.

The company is currently applying for non-profit status with the federal government.

BaltimoreCarShare is set to begin its test phase early next year, with the cars initially being used by the Parking Authority and other city agencies.

The service will then be expanded to corporations, developers and property managers located across Baltimore to be used as a resource for their employees.

Individuals can register on the company's Web site.

Cars will be initially distributed across the city based on demand, with services eventually being expanded across the city.

Cars will be located across the city, parked on the streets or in parking lots.

In accordance with Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's "greener, cleaner Baltimore" philosophy, half the vehicles will be hybrids.

"Half of our cars will be hybrid vehicles," Janes said. "The main concern is that they will be environmentally friendly and gas efficient. As technology improves we will update our vehicles."

Funding for the program will initially come from Mayor Sheila Dixon's office. As the program expands, the hope is the company will become self-sufficient and will not need government funding.

Currently, the Parking Authority is applying for local and federal grants for the project.