By Melanie Radzicki McManus
Madison Magazine
Special To Channel 3000

Last fall, Dan Ross' partner, Charlie Squires, took their car on an overnight business trip. After he'd left, Ross decided it would be fun to visit Squires later that evening. But he didn't have wheels. Ross considered renting a car for the trip, but he knew that was a pricey proposition. And then there would be the hassle of busing or cabbing to the rental spot, filling out all of the paperwork, returning the car the next morning and then busing or cabbing from the rental agency to work. He was about to tube the trip when he remembered Community Car.

Hopping on the Internet, Ross saw there was a car available at the organization's East Doty Street parking spot, quite close to their downtown condo, so he quickly booked it. Within a few hours, he and Squires were chatting about their day in Squires' hotel room.

More and more people are discovering Community Car, a car-sharing organization that provides vehicles on an hourly basis to individuals and groups. Started by Madison Environmental Group president Sonya Newenhouse with 20 charter members, the 18-month-old business now has 230 members and four vehicles, including two hybrid-electric cars and a high-mileage pickup truck.

Car-sharing is not a new concept; it started in Switzerland back in the mid-1980s. But it didn't spread to the United States until 1998, when a group in Portland, Ore., opened up shop. Today, about 20 car-sharing programs serve more than 20,000 citizens nationwide, mainly in large metropolitan areas such as Boston, Detroit, New York and Philadelphia. Although Newenhouse knew Madison was considered a pretty small market in the car-sharing world, she not only wanted to give it a shot, but she wanted to put a greener spin on the concept by providing only fuel-efficient and clean vehicles. "For every mile you drive, you're emitting one pound of CO2, which is a greenhouse gas," says Newenhouse, who also heads Madison Environmental Group. So Community Car's four-vehicle pool includes two gas-electric hybrids that average 49 miles per gallon and a high-mileage gas-powered truck.

The vehicles are parked in convenient downtown locations on Monroe, East Doty and Williamson streets, with one in the Helen C. White parking ramp next to the Memorial Union. The University of Wisconsin--Madison, Willy St. Co-op and Urban Land Interests donated three of the four spots. As members are quick to note, reserving the vehicles is a snap. You simply log on to the group's website or give Community Car a call, reserve a vehicle, then pick it up. Keys are left in a lockbox near the vehicle; a gas card is tucked into the glove compartment in case you need to fill up. Users are billed monthly, with rates ranging from just $1 per hour and 45 cents per mile (a special "insomniac" rate for those using a vehicle between midnight and 7 a.m.) to $9.25 per hour plus 10 free miles. Monthly and annual packages, which provide the best value, are also available.

Amanda White, the group's executive director, touts the program's low cost. Surveys done by Madison Environmental Group, she says, show owners of newer cars spend upwards of $7,000 annually on car payments, gas, insurance, maintenance and parking. Even those with older, paid-off vehicles still spend about $2,000 every year. An annual car-sharing membership, in contrast, costs just $775 for 100 hours and 1,000 miles of driving.

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