Car-sharing option -- why not?

The Gazette Editorial Board

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For many University of Iowa students and near-downtown Iowa City residents, owning a car - paying for it and parking it downtown or on crowded nearby residential streets - can be more trouble than convenience.

That is, until they need to run a faraway errand, or haul an unwieldy load, or want to check out a nearby town with friends.

Enter car sharing - a concept that is growing in popularity with people in Iowa and across the United States who, for whatever reason, don't want the hassle or expense of owning their own car.

For a membership or one-time fee, car-sharing operations allow users short-term use of a car - without having to worry about licensing, storage, insurance or maintenance.

The cost to users is comparable or even lower than the cost of a cab ride, with added convenience.

Users reserve and pay for the vehicles, and can access them any time of day. When they're done, they simply return the vehicles to the designated spot.

Car-sharing businesses already operate in several college towns across Iowa. Now City of Iowa City and UI officials are looking into bringing a similar service to Iowa City. Why not?

Not only would car-sharing options be convenient for UI students and Iowa City residents, it might reduce parking congestion in and near downtown - a win-win.

Or should we say win-win-win? UI and Iowa City officials now are reviewing bids from vendors, and say they expect to be able to bring car sharing to the town for no investment greater than a couple of well-lit parking spaces. That's good news.

Already, car-sharing services are successfully operating on several other Iowa campuses:

In Waverly, Wartburg College officials have made highly visible reserved parking available for two car-share vehicles provided and maintained by U-Haul's U Car Share program.

In the first semester alone, they say users have logged more than 700 hours, driving about 5,000 miles, in the cars.

Luther College in Decorah also has made the U-Haul service available to students, faculty, staff and community members 18 years old or older.

It's part of Luther's sustainability program. Program official estimate that each shared car could replace 15-20 personally owned vehicles - alleviating parking congestion and even improving air quality a bit.

Iowa State University students have access to two vehicles through Enterprise Rent-A-Car company's WeCar service, which operates similarly.

We're glad to see the service might soon be available in Iowa City, as well - where thousands of students are crowded into near-downtown neighborhoods, and can meet most of their daily needs without the use of a car. Other cities, take notes.

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