MichaelW

I joined a not for profit car club that operates in many UK cities. I don't use it much but when I do, it is so convenient. I have a smart card for keyless entry, online booking in 1/2 hr slots with a cap on daily charges, a realistic milleage charge. I have 4 cars within a 5 min walk of my house and I can pick the right size.
I can be car free and still use a car when a bike won't do the job.

52telecaster

Cool!

Roody

I hope that works for you. I'm not sure that these kinds of ride shares are possible in the US, given the insurance regulations, tax code and liability laws. I always thought the laws should be changed to encourage private people--relatives, friends, neighbors--to buy cars co-operatively and share expenses. It's stupid that we have to spend do much money for exclusive ownership of a machine that each individual uses for only a few hours a week, at most.

Walter S

I'm sure GM would disagree. That might have a bit to do with things being the way they are.

jon c. 

Zipcar is a similar service. I thought we had it here, but we're not on the list. They may have tried and failed to obtain the critical mass of users necessary. The rates are fairly high IMO, so it would only be practical for short, occasional use.

RayB

These things are great eh. I belong to one here in Japan that is basically the same. Great thing is its owned by a company that runs tons and tons of parking lots across the country. So, they also put their cars in the lots. From my flat I have about 10 rental sites available all within 5/10 min walk. And, it is cheap. Lets hope the trend continues as the demand grows for these types of services.

wipekitty

We have a for-profit "car share" here, and I belonged to it for a year. It was easy enough to book a car, but otherwise inconvenient; the closest cars were a mile and a half away, and since the target audience was university students, the cars went away between May and August. A cooperative car club sounds much better!

I couldn't agree more. I know a good number of people who are already effectively doing this - letting neighbors, friends, roommates, and family members borrow the car, with or without pitching in gas money. The legal gray area is that the non-owners are not carrying liability insurance. (Bike content: as a cyclist, this is scary to me.)

Roody

I don't know GM's opinion on car co-ops, nor do I care. I imagine the auto insurance industry would have more impact on this area of public policy, not the auto manufacturing industry, but I could be wrong.

wolfchild

And what happens to that car which was purchased co-operatively, if that neighbour, friend, or relative moves far away or if there is a personal conflict between people which leads to serious hostilities between people ??...Who ends up keeping the car ??...Personally I would never co-purchase anything with anybody, to avoid future complications.

tandempower

I agree, but I find it strange that with the upsurge of companies like Uber, Zipcar, and other ride-sharing and car-sharing, no method emerged for converting used cars into car-shares, with ride-sharing options.

A local mechanic shop or used-car dealership could sponsor such a car-share by maintaining the vehicles, and insurance companies could create group packages so the vehicles/drivers would be insured for the time they drove. I suspect the reason such businesses wouldn't want to do this is because they expect to make more money if the individuals who would participate in such car-sharing/ride-sharing would buy cars and pay/maintain/insure them individually instead of collectively.

So by preventing partial car-sharing/ride-sharing, auto businesses corner more people into more expenditures than if they allowed things like group-purchase contracts and group-insurance policies. You might even end up with a car-share driver-owned taxi company, and that would threaten existing taxi services, which seemed to be the main threat to Uber for quite a while, judging from the negative media coverage that seemed to be everywhere a year or so ago.

Machka 

Sounds like a great idea.

Roody

I think civilized people would be able to draw up a contract covering the contingencies. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that the legal framework exists for such contracts. You could probably resolve ownership rights and responsibilities, as well as ways to modify or terminate the contract. But the liability issue would be tricky. Who pays if there is an accident? Can insurance be purchased by a car co-op, or does it need to be in ones individual's name? And so on....

Walter S

Surprise!

rossiny

A bunch of different people using the same car??? Recipe for disaster in my opinion. If it is your own car u check it yourself for safety and maintenance. With all those different people using it some one is bound to abuse it and then u have to take your safety in some one else hands. When are we as a society just going to admit that the car is a failed system, pollutes to much costs to much and road building cost is mind boggling. We need PUBLIC TRANSIT, combined with biking.. Wish. Had som3 money for a vacation to Holland so I could see how they do it first hand...