Dear City CarShare Members,
When City CarShare introduced car sharing to the Bay Area seven
years ago our mission was, and remains today, to grow car sharing
in order to reduce individual car ownership and congestion while
improving the environment and quality of life in the Bay Area.
With your support, City CarShare has remained dedicated to this
mission and is recognized as an industry leader in developing
socially responsible car sharing.
Today (October 31, 2007), two for-profit competitors, Zipcar and
Flexcar, announced a merger. Based in Boston, the new entity
will combine their operations, membership and fleets over the
next few months. The announced reason for this merger is to
accelerate growth and seek profitability in the short term.
How will this merger impact City CarShare and car sharing in the
Bay Area? As a financially sustainable, growing and
service-oriented organization, we'll be here for a long time.
City CarShare's primary concern is that car sharing maintains its
positive industry momentum in committing to local communities.
We are pleased that two large car sharing companies were able to
merge rather than see a major player fail in our nascent
industry, which would have hurt members and been damaging to
industry growth and reputation. In the short term, we do not
expect any major change in operations in the Bay Area but do hope
there is a new motivation to work together to achieve the social
and environmental goals that define car sharing.
City CarShare believes that car sharing is, ideally and
inherently, intricately connected to the community in which it
serves. Car sharing is a local, community-based service and has
prospered wherever local transit and government has adopted its
mission. As a local non-profit, we are committed to the Bay Area
and plan to be here for the long term. At the same time, we
recognize the benefits of aligning ourselves with peer
organizations across North America, and we are doing that -
leading efforts to define car sharing as a unique business that
is part of the public good; forging alliances to allow our
members to use car sharing services in multiple cities in Canada
and the USA; and, together with other socially responsible car
sharing organizations, developing the industry's first
Code of
Ethics and Standards of Practice.
For you, our members, we remain committed to growing the type of
car sharing that serves all stakeholders, not just shareholders.
As a non-profit, we are dedicated to putting every dollar we
make back into our community through our services and advocacy
work. And, as business operators, City CarShare will continue
to:
- Provide the industry's best insurance, at $1 million per
incident.
- Offer the lowest usage pricing possible (currently about
$6/hr for an average trip).
- Provide customer service that is personal, locally-based
and comprehensive.
- Offer alternatives, at low prices, for the occasional
long distance trip.
- Practice responsible growth, only placing cars that can
be reasonably utilized without taking away limited local
parking (from merchants, residents & visitors).
- Ensure our cars are at, or near, the top of their class
in fuel efficiency and low emissions.
- Make sure a variety of cars are offered, meeting your
life style needs; we'll keep premium pricing to a
minimum.
- Always promote walking, biking and public transit first -
but when only a car will do, provide safe, reliable,
functional and fun vehicles.
- Be a responsive, reasonable and flexible provider
recognizing the Bay Area is a wonderful and dynamic place to
live.
As the original Bay Area car sharing organization and a
non-profit, we are committed to our members and our community
first and foremost. Thank you for your commitment to car sharing,
improving the environment and helping to improve the quality of
life in the Bay Area. We're here for you. Let us know what you
think.
Thanks for sharing.
Rick Hutchinson
CEO, City CarShare
