How does it work?
Why do people like it so much?
How do I sign up my business and employees?
I love the low cost, but why is there an hourly and a mileage fee?
What does it cost to take a trip in a City CarShare vehicle?
How do I pay?
How can I track employee driving and usage?
Can I sign up for business and personal use?
Did you say I can reserve cars in 15-minute increments?
What if I want to take a long-distance trip?
Can I make one-way trips?
Can I switch plans?
What about insurance?
Do you have premium cars?
Are there other fees I should be aware of?

Why is City CarShare a nonprofit?


How does it work?   BACK TO TOP
Car sharing gives you self-serve access to a network of locally placed vehicles at unstaffed locations, for hourly use. Your usage rates always include gas, maintenance, and premium insurance. We have hundreds of cars in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Alameda, Daly City and El Cerrito.

When your staff signs up, each employee get an electronic key fob that provides secure access to all our cars, which are shared with other members. They just make a reservation online or by phone, access the car with his or her key fob, and drive away. It's that simple.


Why do people like it so much?   BACK TO TOP
City CarShare, a Bay Area nonprofit, reduces your driving costs and gives your employees access to cars without the hassles of car ownership. In addition, by sharing cars, City CarShare members make a positive impact on our environment and help improve quality of life in the Bay Area. When your employees take transit or car pool to work and then use City CarShare during the day when they need a car for work, you will be providing a way to reduce air pollution in the Bay Area by encouraging a healthier commute among your staff.

Plus, the convenience and reliability of City CarShare are unparalleled. Gas, premium insurance, maintenance, cleaning, and even reserved parking are all included—plus you get access to different kinds of cars like hybrids, MINI Coopers, trucks and vans. Match your trip with the type of car you need.


How do I sign up my business and employees?   BACK TO TOP
It's easy to join. Select the business plan that's best for you and fill out the business application. We'll set up your account and send you your business account number in an email. Give this number to any staff you approve as drivers on your account. Each staff fills out his or her own Employee Application, using your account number.


I love the low cost, but why is there an hourly and a mileage fee?   BACK TO TOP
Our fee structure saves you money. If we charged a flat rate per hour, people who drive locally would be subsidizing people who drive longer distances. Yet we know from our records that most City CarShare trips are local: averaging 3¼ hours and 12-18 miles. So we've chosen a pricing strategy that benefits the majority of our members. Plus our reservations are booked in 15-minute increments, so you never have to pay for a full hour you don't need. Our strategy also promotes more efficient driving, freeing up cars for sharing and benefiting our environment by lowering emissions, using less gas, and reducing congestion.


What does it cost to take a trip in a City CarShare vehicle?   BACK TO TOP
The cost of a trip depends on your needs. We keep our hourly fee low because we know that 90% of car sharing trips are local (i.e. low mileage) but may require a few hours to complete. You may need to use a car for a meeting across town, so with our rate structure the lower hourly fee benefits your business when the car is sitting idle. On average, our members pay about $6.75 for each hour they drive—this includes hours and miles.

Our Biz Prime and Nonprofit Discount plans have an hourly cost cap, so you'll never pay more than $45 for weekdays hourly fees, or more than $50 for weekday hourly fees in a 24-hour period. Also, all of our business plans include a long distance mileage reduction, so you pay just 10¢/mile for each additional mile after 40 miles (up to 200 miles). These perks give your employees the convenience and flexibility to travel for meetings without draining your bank account.


How do I pay?   BACK TO TOP
We have a monthly billing system. Businesses may be invoiced and pay by check or PO. Or you can pay automatically with your business credit card. Bills can be e-mailed or mailed.


How can I track employee driving and usage?   BACK TO TOP
All employees' driving appears on one monthly invoice for easy tracking—including employee name, cost, the vehicle used, the time of the trip, and the distance traveled—and even a short note, like a project code, describing the purpose for the trip (if the employee notes it on his or her reservation.) Our bills include a subtotal for each of your employees' driving, so you can easily see which employees have been using the cars. The account manager has the authority to add to or terminate driving privileges from the business account at any time.


Can I sign up for business and personal use?   BACK TO TOP
Yes! Any employee, whether they are a driver on your business account or not, can add personal use and skip the application fee. Business and personal use are billed separately. To sign up for business and personal use, first fill out an Employee Application. On the application, the employees choose which personal use plan they want to join.

If your employee is not a driver on your account, but wants to join for personal use and skip the application fee, have him or her fill out a ShareLocal, SharePlus or Share-a-Little personal use application. They need to put EMP + your business account number in the promo field. We'll waive their application fee and set up a personal account for them.


Did you say I can reserve cars in 15-minute increments?   BACK TO TOP
You bet. Need to pick up a last minute copy order from Copy Central? Reserve for less than hour. Need to make a run to Costco to pick up some goodies for your work team building session? You have the option to reserve for an hour and 15 minutes. Or if you're headed down to Silicon Valley for a meeting and are worried about delays, add an extra 15 minutes onto your reservation and lower your stress. It all adds up to convenience and savings for your business.


What if I want to take a long-distance trip?   BACK TO TOP
All of our business plans include a long distance mileage reduction. This means that the first 40 miles are billed at the standard mileage rate. After that, you pay just 10¢/mile for each additional mile after 40 miles, up to 200 miles. Plus, our Biz Prime and Nonprofit Discount plans have an hourly cost cap: you'll never pay more than $45 for weekday hours or more than $50 for weekend hours, within in a 24-hour period. These perks give your business the convenience and flexibility you need to get around.


Can I make one-way trips?   BACK TO TOP
No. But you won't have to look for end-of-trip parking because you always return the car to its original location at the end of the reservation.


Can I switch plans?   BACK TO TOP
Yes! You can switch plans to match your needs anytime.


What about insurance?   BACK TO TOP
Glad you asked. City CarShare has one of the best insurance plans in the industry. You're covered up to $1,000,000 per incident. Chances are you can't get better coverage than that! All you're responsible for is a $500 deductible if you have an accident. If you want to lower that deductible to $50, have your employees choose Buck to Deduct each time they reserve a car for some extra liability at just $1/hour, or set your preferences to Buck to Deduct automatically for all of your trips.


Do you have premium cars?   BACK TO TOP
City CarShare offers many types of cars. All of our vehicles are at or near the top of their class for fuel efficiency and low emissions. For our Biz Value members, there is an additional $2/hour charge for Premium and Capacity vehicles such as our MINI Coopers, passenger vans and Toyota Tacoma trucks. For a complete list of Premium and Capacity vehicles, check out our Car Details page. Biz Prime and Nonprofit Discount members pay no additional fee for Premium and Capacity vehicles.

We'll continue to add MINI Coopers, vans, trucks and other cars based on your needs, but we pledge to keep our premium cars to a minimum so that you're not forced to pay more for a car just because a standard-priced vehicle is not available.


Are there other fees I should be aware of?   BACK TO TOP
Car sharing means sharing, and we're all relying on each other to take care of the cars, drive responsibly and be respectful of each other's time and needs. That's why all car sharing organizations have fees associated with the occasional glitch or forgotten rule, such as the no smoking in our cars rule. For example, if an employee returns a car late, we might have to assign an "inconvenience fee" (although we'll bend over backwards to help you avoid it). To see a full list of fees and credits, click here.


Why is City CarShare a nonprofit?   BACK TO TOP
City CarShare launched car sharing in the Bay Area in 2001. We are a mission-based nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing individual car ownership and driving. Through car sharing, City CarShare and you—our members—reduce congestion, greenhouse emissions, and dependence on foreign oil while contributing to the health of our cities. Together, we enable more responsible land use and encourage greater use of alternative transportation. And we do it all while lowering the cost of mobility and providing a convenient, reliable service to our members.

We have a unique and important role as a nonprofit. We encourage the growth of socially responsible car sharing—even among our competitors. We lead efforts to integrate car sharing into the transportation network and incorporate car sharing in new real estate developments and neighborhoods. As a nonprofit, we never have to make a decision to earn an extra dollar for investors. In fact, we strive to keep our fees low so our service is accessible to as many people as possible. And as a local nonprofit, we put every dollar earned right back into the community.