Carsharing program in Ithaca, NY 

Forward from: Liz Walker
Date: Saturday, December 2, 2006

Here is a wonderful local success story. Several years ago, students in an Ithaca College “Sustainable Communities” class taught by EcoVillage at Ithaca resident Elan Shapiro (as part of a partnership between Ithaca College and EVI, funded by the National Science Foundation), were looking for a hands-on project. I worked with them to poll EVI residents on their dreams for alternative transportation. The most popular topics were: a car-sharing program, a passive solar bus shelter (it can be cold waiting for the bus on winter days here!), and an electronic ride-board program.

The ride-board program was implemented that semester, the bus shelter (which also has a living roof) was designed by Cornell students two years ago, and built last year using solar electricity, and the car-share program was the focus of an IC-EVI partnership mini- grant in both 2004 and 2005. Dan Roth, the EcoVillager who got the second mini-grant, decided to expand the focus to include the city of Ithaca. He pulled together a coalition of groups for a very successful summit in January, 2006, and organizing for the Ithaca Carshare began.

Steering committee members include members from Cornell, Ithaca College, the City of Ithaca, EcoVillage at Ithaca, and the Ithaca-Tompkins Transportation Council. (Many thanks go to Stephanie Greenwood, a new, car-free resident of EVI for coordinating the marketing of this project, and representing EVI.) Now a major grant has come through, and the first two cars will start at EVI, bringing the initial dreams back to reality in a full circle. This is very exciting!

Liz Walker, Director
EcoVillage at Ithaca

---------------------------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

JUMP-START FOR ITHACA CARSHARE

Ithaca Carshare Receives Start-up Funding

Ithaca Carshare has been awarded $177,220 to support its first two years of operation. Organizers plan to offer the first carsharing services in the Ithaca area as early as next spring and to expand operations later in 2007.

“We will start with two cars at EcoVillage, a neighborhood that has already had experience with informal carsharing, and then - after we’ve worked out any kinks - we plan to expand the service to downtown and then to the Ithaca College and Cornell campuses,” said Ithaca Carshare coordinator Jennifer Dotson.

Carsharing works on a membership basis, explained Tim Logue, City of Ithaca Transportation Engineer and a member of the Ithaca Carshare steering committee. Members who sign up have 24-hour access to a variety of new, clean, insured and well-maintained vehicles that may be rented by the hour. Carsharing solves many transportation problems for people who don’t want the burden of owning a car for occasional use.

The funds are being provided through a cost-shared research agreement with the New York State Department of Transportation and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Ithaca Carshare is a not-for-profit whose governing board includes representation from Ithaca College, Cornell University, EcoVillage at Ithaca, the City of Ithaca, and the Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council.

Carsharing services have been successfully established in many other communities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Carsharing has been shown to save drivers money, reduce traffic and parking congestion, and to fit well with other modes of alternative transportation such as biking, walking, and using public transit.

“We did quite a bit of market research that indicates that the Ithaca area is ready for a carshare service,” said Dotson. “Getting the state funding has been a real boost. We’re a bit amazed ourselves at how quickly this is all moving along.”

A newly designed Ithaca Carshare website at: http://www.ithacacarshare.org explains more about the service and how community members can stay informed about Ithaca Carshare.

- 30 -

Ithaca Carshare
24/7 access to a fleet of vehicles on a per-hour basis
http://www.ithacacarshare.org

Comments