The Neighborhood Energy Consortium (NEC) announced today that it will
launch Minnesota’s first car-sharing service with seed funding from the
federal government, Hennepin County, the state Office of Environmental
Assistance, and the Saint Paul Foundation. The NEC’s program, called
hOurCar, will get rolling in the spring with six cars distributed among
hubs in the Uptown and Loring Park neighborhoods in Minneapolis and the
Lowertown district of downtown Saint Paul.
Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Senators Norm Coleman and Mark Dayton,
and
Congressman James Oberstar led efforts at the federal level to secure a
$275,000 appropriation to help launch hOurCar. “I am pleased to have
succeeded in securing federal funding for this investment in our
transportation future,” said Congresswoman McCollum. “hOurCar is an
innovative program that provides creative transportation solutions to
ease congestion, improve air quality and make transportation
opportunities more accessible to everyone, benefiting our entire
community.”
Locally Commissioner Peter McLaughlin worked with hOurCar to obtain a
$50,000 pledge from Hennepin County to help underwrite the launch of
hOurCar operations in Minneapolis. The Saint Paul Foundation will
contribute $25,000 to bring hOurCar services to Saint Paul. The state’s
Office of Environmental Assistance will augment its initial hOurCar
planning support with a grant to put cars on the road.
Car-sharing is a neighborhood-based mobility service that allows
members
to use cars when needed and pay based on how much they drive. hOurCar
will manage a fleet of late-model automobiles for members’ use. Members
will reserve cars through the hOurCar website or by phone. The
electronically secured cars will be parked in hubs of two to five cars,
in ramps and on lots located within a short walk, bike, or transit ride
of members’ homes and workplaces.
hOurCar members may save up to several thousand dollars each year by
car-sharing. With a fleet comprised entirely of gas-electric hybrid
vehicles and a flexible payment plan, hOurCar aims to maximize
car-sharing’s proven benefits of cleaner air, reduced traffic, resource
conservation, and greater mobility for residents at all income levels.
hOurCar offers membership plans tailored to meet the distinct needs of
individual drivers, households, and businesses.
Members will pay for hOurCar’s services through monthly membership dues
and vehicle usage fees. Members who opt to pay $5/month dues can use
hOurCars at a rate of $6.95/hour plus $0.45/mile. Alternatively,
members
may choose to pay higher monthly dues of $20 along with lower usage
rates of $4.95/hour plus $0.39/mile. “Our unique dual rate structure
allows members to choose the plan that will save them the most money,”
points out Kurt Fischer, hOurCar’s manager. “hOurCar pays for
everything
else—fuel, insurance, maintenance—everything.”
To maximize participation and to ensure community benefits, hOurCar
planners are working closely with the cities of Minneapolis and Saint
Paul, Metro Commuter Services, neighborhood groups such as the Uptown
Association, Citizens for a Loring Park Community and the CapitolRiver
Council, and several Twin Cities Transportation Management
Organizations, housing developers, and local elected officials.
Mary Morse, Executive Director of the NEC, hOurCar’s nonprofit parent
organization, notes that “What makes hOurCar unique among car-sharing
services worldwide is our emphasis on environmental benefits. Our
signature vehicle—the Toyota Prius—is known for its fuel efficiency.
What’s less well known is that this car is incredibly clean. According
to Toyota, the Prius emits up to 90% fewer pollutants than the average
new vehicle. And the Prius is a great looking car that’s fun to drive.”
Independent researchers have documented the benefits of car-sharing in
the San Francisco Bay area where City CarShare (CCS), the nation’s
largest nonprofit car-sharing organization operates. CCS members are
driving fewer miles, generating less pollution, consuming less
gasoline,
increasing their use of transit, and biking more since joining CCS.
hOurCar will work with researchers at the University of Minnesota’s
Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs to evaluate the impact of hOurCar
on the Twin Cities.
Gay Noble, an Uptown resident and aide to Minneapolis City Council
member Dan Niziolek, remarked, “To have hOurCar locating in Uptown is
such a great addition for residents in the area. For me personally
this
is so exciting since I do not own a car. Now I’ll have use of a car
for
those times I need to get to places not served by transit.”
For more information about hOurCar and to register interest in
membership, visit www.hOurCar.org.
Comment from Suspeckted:
I know that minneapolis is said to have the largest homosexual population next to San Francisco, but seriously, is there really someone named Gay Noble?
