Are Car Sharing Services Taking Over the Market?

For city slickers, having a car can be an expensive luxury that many don’t see the need for. With extensive public transit systems, many feel that having a car is an unnecessary expense. But times when you want to leave the big city,move furniture, or stock up on groceries, having a car could come in handy in the downtown core. That’s the niche market that car services like Zipcar, Car2Go and several other companies hope to fill.

Right now, car sharing services like those from Zipcar tend to offer members the ability to rent cars for short periods of time, and cars are parked around urban areas, can be unlocked using a key fob, and can be reserved on the web or a cell phone. In addition, car-sharing services often include fuel, insurance anda service fee. In contrast, more traditional car rental businesses tend to rent cars through actual stores, mostly rent cars only during business hours, and most of the time, fuel isn’t included in the price.

For example, David Stewart,the managing partner of a small social media company doesn't own a car. Instead, he relies on Car2Go for getting around.

He picks up one of the cars first thing in the morning in his neighborhood and drives to the local coffeehouse where parks the car. He works for a couple of hours and when he's ready to visit a client, he grabs another car, which he locates on an app on his smartphone. He reserves a tiny two-passenger Smart Car across the street.

He swipes his membership card in front of a reader on the windshield to get in to the car. "Now it's confirming my account, and you wait until the car is unlocked and now we can get in and start driving," Stewart says.

Because of the convenience and affordability of this new service, many city dwellers would never dream of going back to renting a car from a more traditional rental company like Enterprise or Budget.

CSA is a big player in car sharing,the CSA represents carsharing organizations (CSOs) interested in improving the credibility, quality of service and public knowledge of the carsharing industry.

Its purpose is to support the sustainability and efficacy of the carsharing industry in order to meet financial, environmental and educational goals based on socially responsible ethics, standards and practices.

The goal of the association is to provide a respected authority and unified industry voice in order to support its members, their constituents and the communities in which they operate.

Its mission is to maximize the environmental, social and financial benefits provided by carsharing organizations by advocating, promoting and providing education, services and awareness of socially responsible carshare programs. Provide an active forum and supportive environment for the carshare industry and its constituents.

By finding a new niche, marketing, and creating their own paths, these short-term, self-service car renting and sharing companies have many big brand name rental companies asking, “Why didn’t we think of that?”

SerinnaBrastock works hard to make people understand the threats to the environment through her writings online. She often buys used auto parts and is handy enough To Rebuild a Car Engine if she had to.

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