Transportation Expert Advises Drivers to Consider Car Sharing During Holiday and Winter Seasons

PHILADELPHIA--Clayton Lane, transportation expert, planner and analyst, is encouraging drivers across the nation to take advantage of car sharing these holiday and winter seasons. Many options exist during these times for car sharing, a service which offers usage of a varied fleet of vehicles to member drivers, when they need it, for whatever amount of time.

For the holiday season, people may temporarily need a “second car” for shopping or holiday visits. Members of car sharing organizations also have access to different types of larger vehicles to transport Christmas trees or oversized gifts.

“We at PhillyCarShare see a significant rise in reservations the Saturdays preceding Christmas,” said Lane. “Drivers are inevitably taking advantage of the convenience, accessibility and affordability of the service during the holidays.” In addition to these advantages when needing use of a vehicle, car sharing is also many times less expensive than car rental.

During the winter, various vehicles are available for seasonal travel. “Many urban members enjoy using certain vehicles for travel such as ski trips,” notes Lane. “It’s a great advantage as members avoid having to purchase an SUV just for an occasional winter day trip.”

Many car sharing vehicles are also housed indoors and those that are not have winter snow removal service. Members can opt to leave their own cars “buried” and use car sharing vehicles to avoid shoveling and always enjoy having a clean parking spot.

Another winter advantage is drivers can use car sharing as a way to “test drive” many vehicles prior to the heavy spring automobile buying season.

There are many winter opportunities; however, Lane also advises extra caution during these months. “Many car sharers only drive occasionally and may not have a lot of experience driving in harsh winter conditions,” said Lane. “Since we care about our members, we advise extra caution and only necessary driving in severe weather.”

With gas prices currently rising in many parts of the country, car sharing can also be a holiday and winter cost-saver. Since in many car sharing organizations fuel is included in rates, gas prices have also become a factor in drivers choosing to car share. In a recent survey, PhillyCarShare in Philadelphia found that 40 percent of its members noted gas prices were a factor in joining the service.

The good news for those interested in car sharing is the industry is expanding rapidly. There are now over 3,200 car sharing vehicles in the nation. This represents more than a doubling from 2005, when there were over 1,500 vehicles. Car sharing systems of 100+ vehicles now exist in seven U.S. regions; systems of four or more vehicles now operate in 21 U.S. regions.