In China with the government backing, there's automated vertical garages that are going up and will be going up everywhere (similar to bicycle rentals), that contain EV's that are currently rentable for about $3/hr...it exists because China is concerned about their terrible smog and pollution and it fears its growing middle class will only make the situation worse unless something is done, so they're doing something about it with subsidies, limiting new issuance of licenses, and encouraging Chinese EV manufacturers to enter the marketplace. It also provides an easy solution for its people who want to enter the middle class and can't afford a TSLA, etc.
In this country I find it highly unlikely that the owners of the major car rental companies will provide any car share situation that would be competitive or destructive of their market share. I've looked at Zipcar and in the places I travel, it makes zero sense.
So to answer your question with my opinion, I do not hold out any high hopes with car sharing in this country; unlike China, I question if the bulk of the population would participate in car sharing to really make it effective, although there are studies, etc., that show young people are increasingly comfortable in not owning a car. I just don't have any confidence that the major car rental companies which have shown so little creative marketing and organization, are going to provide any options that "folks" like me would find efficient or make sense, financially.
As a very frequent renter of cars over the past 10 years, car renting has changed remarkably little, the pricing to them may have an underpinning of logic, it has always escaped me. For companies that lack so much imagination, I have zero confidence they could ever build an effective car share situation. Course then I look at a company like Hertz that is an arm and leg above every other car rental company, but I have no expectation that as they implement their car share "solution", it will ever make financial sense for me, or efficient.
Color me pessimistic.
Originally Posted by
CTNYC
I'm a relatively new member with Zipcar (joined Aug 2013). When I first got to DC, there seemed to be quite a few "hourly only" zip cars - Usually Civics and Mazda 3's that were at $8.25/hr - not too bad if I only need the car for 2 or 3 hours... However, I've been noticing that ZipCar has only 1 or 2 hourly cars around me now, and the prices on the rest are not exactly "cheap"
Renting an Elantra for 3 hours would cost me ~$34 or $35 on a weekday with Zipcar, and ~$38 on a weekend.. Not too bad of a deal maybe. However, Hertz has been doing some great weekend rates lately - I can rent an ICAR (Corolla or similar), then almost always get an FCAR through Gold Choice for $25/day... Granted I need to pay for gas, but still seems cheaper.. Weekday rates with Hertz are slightly higher at ~$45/day
I get the convenience of Zipcar, but for my money, I would rather drive a "normal" car that doesn't have giant zip car stickers on the doors and a car where I can take the keys with me.. Any thoughts on the future of car sharing in general? Maybe Avis, Hertz, and Enterprise will find a way to merge their regular fleet and their hourly fleet based on demand and bring down prices?