Driven by rising fuel costs, more and more drivers are giving up their vehicles in favor of bicycles, scooters and public transit. But there can be drawbacks. Sometimes buses, subways and bicycles just won’t get you where you need to go—or carry what you need to carry. Sometimes, you really need a car.

If the occasional long drive or big shopping trip is the major reason you own a car, rather than a scooter or pre-paid bus card, you might be a good candidate for a car-sharing service.

Car sharing services are still a new idea. To date, there are just a handful, a little more than four dozen operating largely in big cities and around colleges. We’ve even heard tell of a few car sharing services operated co-op style, between friends and neighbors in small towns. Bt with the cost of driving spiraling higher and higher, car sharing is becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to the high cost of owning and maintaining a vehicle.

Car-sharing advocates claim that car sharing can be a smart choice for a variety of drivers, including

• city dwellers who don’t want the expense of owning a car and paying for garage parking

• corporations that need to supply employee transportation but don’t want the expense of fleet vehicles
• college campuses with limited parking facilities
• Families that want to avoid the cost of additional vehicles—but still need one on occasion

Why, you might ask, don’t they just rent cars? Car sharing services do operate something like car rental services, but the cost is considerable lower. In Los Angeles, becoming a member of a car sharing service can cost less than $100 a month.  Compare that to the average cost of maintaining a midsize car in Los Angeles—which the AAA calculated as more than $900 a month—and you begin to see the savings.

Most car sharing services stress convenience and low cost, but environmentalists point to the reduction of both pollution and congestion in cities and around colleges.

How to tell if car sharing services are available in your area? You’re most likely to find them locally if you live in a big city or near a college campus. We found both non-profit and for-profit services operating along the West Coast from Washington State all the way down to California as well as in big cities like Chicago and Philadelphia. Call your local AAA, ask at your local Department of Motor Vehicles or search Google for your town’s name and the phrase “car sharing.”

If there’s no established car sharing service near you, but you like the idea, consider a grass-roots effort to form a car sharing co-op. We found as few as 15 people in Vermont sharing 3 cars between them, and more extensive efforts like the Co-operative Auto Network in Vancouver, British Columbia. Placing an ad on Craig’s List could be a good way to get started forming a car sharing co-op in your own area.

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