Car-share program rides into town
By Karen Berkowitz, Pioneer Press Online
April 28, 2005
As housing options spring up near Evanston 's Metra and CTA train stations, an ever-growing number of city dwellers can catch a train or hoof it to most of their destinations.
But even they, on occasion, need a set of wheels — a need founders of the I-Go car sharing program are hoping to fill with the expansion of the 3-year-old program this week into downtown Evanston .
Some I-Go members actually have sold their cars or put off a purchase, saving hundreds and even thousands of dollars annually on car insurance and parking for a vehicle that receives little usage.
"Car-sharing allows people to continue to use transit, biking or walking for their daily commute and then have the car when they need to run errands or go to the grocery store," which is the No. 1 reason cited by members for needing a vehicle, said Sharon Feigon, an Evanston resident who is chief executive officer of I-Go.
This week, the I-Go program officially arrived in Evanston with two vehicles stationed at the city's Maple Avenue parking garage. One of the vehicles is a Honda Civic gas-electric hybrid that reportedly gets 50 miles to the gallon in the city and on the highway.
Members pay a $75 fee to join the program and $25 for subsequent annual renewals. Time slots are reserved in advance over the phone or Internet. Under the standard program, car usage is billed against a credit card at $6 an hour plus 50 cents per mile. I-Go pays for car insurance and gasoline. (Drivers who fill up the tank are credited for the amount on their statement.)
First outside Chicago
The Evanston location is the first outside the city of Chicago, where 25 I-Go cars already are based in 13 neighborhoods, including the Gateway shopping center near the Howard Street CTA depot and a location near Loyola University that opened last week.
One motor club has estimated that it costs $6,700 annually to own and operate a car in the Chicago area, including car payments, gasoline and insurance. By comparison, I-Go estimates that a member who uses public transportation along with car sharing and an occasional taxi ride and car rental spends $2,300 a year.
The car-sharing concept was brought to the Chicago area by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, a nonprofit organization that works on creating livable communities and testing whether environmentally sound, "green" ventures can work in the marketplace.
I-Go has purchased its vehicles with federal funding earmarked for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality. State Reps. Julie Hamos, D-18th, of Evanston and Harry Osterman, D-14th, of Chicago have been instrumental in securing funding to expand the venture into Evanston. The program also has received strong support from U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-9th, of Evanston .
A new approach
Speaking at a press briefing Monday, Schakowsky contrasted the forward-thinking car sharing concept to the "same old, same old" approach to energy problems reflected by the energy bill passed by Congress last week.
"What (the energy bill) really did was reinforce a 20th century fuel portfolio with tax breaks for big oil, big gas and nuclear power," the "same old, same old approach that has resulted in rising prices at the pump, increased air pollution and global warming," Schakowsky said.
"When I hear about people who are satisfied (I-GO) customers actually selling their cars, then I know that this program is really meeting their needs."
Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, a resident of south Evanston who works as a community newspaper reporter, uses the I-Go car sharing plan when he needs a set of wheels to research an assignment.
"It has really helped us as a family, in that we made a conscious decision to go to one car," Kelly Lowenstein said. "This has helped us negotiate some of the logistics and also to be around for our son. Kelly Lowenstein said he likes I-Go because it is a "green and environmentally sensitive company."
"It's very easy to make a reservation and the locations have expanded quite a bit in the time that I've been a member," he said.
The cars, of course, must be returned on time, particularly if another member has signed up for the next time slot. Members running late may call in and extend the time if it's not been reserved by another member. Late penalties are steep -- $10 per half hour plus any costs up to $100 to get the next user to another I-Go vehicle.
"People learn pretty fast," Feigon said.
'Mobility insurance'
Since starting as a pilot in 2002, the program has grown to more than 1,000 members, some who use the cars regularly and others only rarely.
"Some people join because they see it as 'mobility insurance,'" Feigon said. "By being a member, they know the program will be there for them if they need it or if their car breaks down."
Still, the viability of the program is dependent on usage.
"The idea is for the program to become self-sufficient so we don't need grants or outside funding," Feigon said. "As long as the cars are used, we are happy to keep expanding."
I-Go already is exploring the possibility of creating a spot at the Metra depot on Main Street when the station is redeveloped.
Existing locations include Edgewater, Hyde Park, Lakeview, Logan Square, Near North/Gold Coast, Printers Row, South Loop, Streeterville/River East, Wicker Park, Millennium Park, Lincoln Square and Rogers Park. Information is available at www.igocars.org or by calling 866-446-7372.
Karen Berkowitz can be reached at kberkowitz.com.
