Car sharing

The average American drives approximately 12,000 miles a year.

Car sharing is a great way to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) while still providing access to a car for those errands or trips that can’t be done by walking, biking or transit.

Car sharing participants reduce their environmental impact and avoid the hassles of owning a car: insurance premiums, high gas prices, maintenance, and long waits at the DMV.

Car sharing companies are growing in the U.S.

Programs like Zipcar, PhillyCarShare, Car2Go in Austin, Texas, as well as big name rental companies like Hertz and Enterprise [PDF], are helping people get around without owning a car.

A UC Berkeley study done for San Francisco's City CarShare found that 30% of City CarShare households sold one or more of their cars after joining the program, and automobile travel among members dropped 47%.

The study concluded that City CarShare members save 720 gallons of gas or 20,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions on a daily basis.

New law would allow individuals to participate

In addition to conventional car sharing programs, legislation has been passed in California that will help advance personal car sharing programs. Personal car sharing would allow individuals to share their own car or use a car in the community without suffering any insurance penalty.

This idea has great potential, especially in areas where a full-fledged car sharing program would not make business sense.

Reducing greenhouse gases and dangerous pollutants

All of these programs are promising ways to reduce VMT, and in turn, reduce greenhouse gases and dangerous pollutants. VMT reduction is a critical part of improving transportation’s carbon footprint, and car sharing is a great and practical way to reducing driving.