August 31, 2006 Issue                                       

©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Can shared cars relieve parking woes in Mt. Airy?
PhillyCarShare sells auto alternative to residents.
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

City residents who use cars only for a few annual road trips, visits to the supermarket and or daily runs to day care, are finding PhillyCarShare a less expensive alternative to car ownership.

PhillyCarShare is an environmentally friendly, nonprofit company that provides vehicles at an hourly or daily rate, with about 40 locations scattered throughout Philadelphia, including two in Mt. Airy. Each location has only one or two cars, and members pay an annual rate to reserve the car online when needed, avoiding the usual paper work of car rental and offering more freedom than public transportation.

At an August 24 meeting discussing parking and traffic concerns in the area around Green Street and Carpenter Lane in Mt. Airy, residents near the PhillyCarShare pod at that intersection wanted to see the Toyota Prius hybrid, which was placed there this summer, moved elsewhere. The car takes up an on-street parking space, and residents say once school starts the parking limitation will become a problem because of the proximity to Henry School.

“I don’t think it would be good to inconvenience Greene and Carpenter anymore,” said Susan Beetle, a Summit Presbyterian Church member, at the meeting.

“We’re beyond limited, there’s just no space,” added Leroy Williams, of the 500 block of Carpenter Lane.

Clayton Lane, PhillyCarShare’s co-founder and board chair, said the one PhillyCarShare spot would free up numerous others, as locals sell their cars to use the company’s vehicle. Residents seemed skeptical of this comment until three local residents stood up at the meeting and announced that they had already sold their car to utilize the company’s service.

Afshin Kaighobady, of the 7300 block of Cresheim Road, recently sold his second car because of PhillyCarShare.

“So I already created a space,” said Kaighobady to residents who were concerned about the lost space at Greene and Carpenter.

Glenn Bergman, general manager of Weavers Way Co-op, said he sold his 1997 Saturn station wagon the day before the August 24 meeting. His goal, he said, is to bike the one mile to work and the four to five miles of weekly errands.

“It’s brilliant — I search by vehicle or location and schedule when I need it,” Bergman said. “The rules are tight, but that’s necessary. And if I’m running late and no one has reserved it, I can extend my reservation time over the phone.”

With the sale of his Saturn, which was the family’s third car, Bergman said he’s saving about $4,500 annually.

Weavers Way Co-op supports PhillyCarShare by offering a $50 credit to the first 35 of its members who sign up for the car sharing, and others who sign up could receive discounts to Weavers Way.

“I think it will alleviate parking congestion on the street,” Bergman said.

PhillyCarShare claims that the use of its vehicles not only saves members money and frees up parking in the city, but also protects the environment and saves fossil fuel.

Lane noted that “when you don’t have the car in the driveway and you are paying daily for one’s use, you are quicker to look for alternatives to auto transportation.” One of the company’s vehicles is a Toyota Prius hybrid, which utilizes less gas and creates fewer emissions.

Meenal Raval, resident of the 400 block of Carpenter Lane, sold her environmentally safe 1991 Volkswagen Jetta, which had been converted to run on used vegetable oil, since she only used the car for local shopping trips and visits to family and friends.

“For that amount of use, why not pay as I go,” Raval said. She saves close to $300 a month by using PhillyCarShare.

Alex Morris and his wife Kathie Johnson, of E. Gorgas Lane, sold two cars in January, switching to one personal vehicle and using the PhillyCarShare Tacoma pickup and Toyota Prius at the Germantown Avenue pod, near Durham Street. Morris, who uses PhillyCarShare, said the couple saves at least $2,000 per year on insurance. He does not even pay for the vehicles when he uses them for work because the architectural firm he works for, Wallace Roberts & Todd, pays for PhillyCarShare use.

He said he sometimes reserves cars closer to his office in Center City for work trips because the Germantown Avenue pod is highly used. Lane said the pod serves 103 nearby households.

Members of PhillyCarShare go to the company’s web site, and reserve a car for the time needed. Cars are searchable by location or car type, so if the nearest car is not the type needed, one can be reserved elsewhere, and all locations can be reached easily by public transportation.

PhillyCarShare vehicles include pickups and vans, plus Toyota Prius hybrids, BMW Mini Coopers, and Volkswagens, so if a prospective user has a big date, he could go with a small speedy BMW mini, or if gardening is on the agenda, choose a pickup truck to carry home bags of mulch and pots of flowers.

When the reserved time rolls around, members bring their key fob to the car, wave it in front of the keyhole for entrance, and the key is located inside. Then users go on a trip, run errands, pick up the kids, etc., until the time to return it (within 15 minutes of the reserved time).

Through the membership fee and an hourly or daily rate, members basically only pay for the time they use an auto, which for many city residents is not often. Membership covers the car’s insurance ($1 million in coverage, no deductible), offers 24-hour road assistance and covers the ever-rising inconvenient cost of gas.

In addition, drivers can park in spots reserved by the company around the city, ridding drivers of the stress of finding city parking.

As for the Greene Street and Carpenter Lane pod, Lane said PhillyCarShare is taking into consideration the community’s concerns, adding that it is likely to see more locations sprouting in the Northwest, including Chestnut Hill. There are currently the two in Mt. Airy, two in Manayunk and one in East Falls.

Contact staff writer Kristin Pazulski at 215-248-8819 or Kristin@chestnuthilllocal.com.