Car Sharing isn't just healthy for the environment, it's also healthy for business

As a manager of a small work group of 25 employees in Arlington County, I have the need to own a van to transport goods and materials within the Metro region.  This van is great, but it comes at a fairly high cost.  These costs include insurance, parking, gas, maintenance and the cost of the vehicle.  On average our van costs my work group close to $1,000 per month and it gets used extensively.  At times, we need a second vehicle, this is where our car sharing account helps us save money.  If we were to commit to purchasing another van, we would be on the hook for a minimum of $1,000 per month for this amenity.  Instead, we utilize our Zipcar account (www.zipcar.com) and "share" a car as needed throughout the month.  This service costs less than $9.00/hour and allows us the flexibility to utilize a variety of vehicles to serve our needs.  We spend an average of $200/month for our 2nd vehicle (saving us nearly $10,000 annually)  The majority of my work group takes public transportation to the office (healthy for the environment) and Zipcar allows us to meet our other "car" needs each month (healthy for our business).

Jay Fresch is a Project Manager within the Arlington County Commuter Services Bureau.

Comments

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good point. to have our own vehicle is really a nice one. Save time and money.

[Kids Music]

Your blog is like an encyclopedia for those who want to know more about this. Thanks for the interesting information.

[Christine Simiriglia]

Here's a good piece on car sharing. I hope folks find it useful: http://organize-more-stress-less.squarespace.com/home/2009/11/1/do-you-carshare.html

[Joe Chapline]

The business saves money, and the employees aren't pressured into bringing their personal vehicles to work. Friends of mine, a married couple, could easily get by with one car instead of two, but the guy feels he's expected to have a car available at work. I imagine that's common.