There's Always Bike Parking Close By!

You can pedal to the car. In fact, we encourage it. Here's where you can lock up:

Horatio @ N. Winooski and Crombie - Look for the two inverted, u-shaped locking hitches just outside of Viva Espresso on Crombie Street. 

Ramona @ S. Champlain St. - There are 2 full size bike racks right beside the pod.

Otto @ S. Winooski and Main - There are bike racks all along Church Street downtown. There is also a covered rack at the State House building (where Kinko's is) on Main St.

Pearl and Dewey @ the UVM Morrill Hall Lot - There's plenty of parking on campus! Look for one rack in front of and one beside the Royall Tyler Theater on University Pl. There are also racks at the  Bailey/ Howe Library.

Clovis and Clementine @ Champlain College McDonald Hall Lot - Directly in front of the pod and on the backside of McDonald Hall, there is a bike rack sheltered by several overhanging windows.

Nora @ South Park (5 Sisters) - At Callahan Park you'll find lots of parking options for your bike. There's a rack beside the playground adjacent to the basketball courts. Pedal down to the playground beside the baseball field and there's a rack there, too.

Ace @ Ethan Allen Shopping Center, New North End - In the parking lot in front of the post office, you'll find a small bike rack. There's also one at Hannaford's at the entrance to the store.

Tammy @ Champlain Apartments on Pearl St. - Bike parking options for this pod are just a little farther away. Find racks at the Fletcher Free Library or the YMCA on College Street. Anywhere downtown works well, too. Tammy will be just a short walk away. Or, put your bike in the bed of the truck and park your bike in a place that's convenient to you.

To navigate to this information from out homepage, click on "Cars and Locations" and then select "Pod Locations." Scroll down past the map and you should find all of the information you need.

Understanding the External Costs of Driving

    “Imagine houses without driveways,
    It’s easy if you try.
    No need for pavement in our yards,
    And still the freedom to drive.”
            -Jimmy the Intern

When people think about the costs of driving, often what comes to mind are the personal monetary costs, like filling up the tank or replacing the brakes. What we sometimes forget to consider are the external costs. External costs are the tangible and intangible effects of driving, such as air pollution, environmental degradation, loss of green space, negative health effects, oil dependency, and social inequity--these are the things that are not so easily reflected in what we actually pay to drive but are a burden to society nevertheless. For each dollar a user spends operating a vehicle, it is estimated that an average of $2.55 worth of external costs are incurred related to congestion, crashes, parking and environmental degradation. This article explores some of these costs in hopes of sharing new information and increasing awareness about the broader impact of our personal transportation choices.

Land use for cars is a substantial cost to society that is easily overlooked. For the most part, our towns and cities are primarily designed to prioritize personal automobiles.  The infrastructure of roads and bridges that is required to accommodate all of these cars and trucks creates a major economic burden.  On average, automobile user payments (tolls, registration fees, etc.) cover only 60% of this infrastructure. That means the other 40% of costs are passed on to taxpayers, whether or not they drive.  In this year alone, the Burlington Department of Public Works plans to spend $3.2 million on reconstructing our local roads. On the one hand, these roads already exist and need to be maintained and repaired. On the other, the amount of funding available to support more diverse and efficient transportation modes is diminished.    

Another costly product of an automobile-oriented society is parking.  There are at least three parking spaces for each of the more than 230 million (gulp) cars in the U.S. Valuable land in cities and towns are being paved over at the behest of automobiles. If there wasn’t such a high demand for parking, then land in commercial districts could be developed and used for much more beneficial purposes, such as housing and commercial space. However, parking is necessary when the only means of accessing an area is by car.  Parking is expensive to build. The cost to construct a single parking spot in Burlington, for example, can range from $20,000 to $25,000, and even up to $40,000.  Additionally, around 10% of typical building development costs are attributed to parking.  These costs reveal the true story of the “free parking” we encounter in commercial districts. Free parking is used by 95% of commuters who drive, thus prompting the question: who really pays for it?  Although the costs are borne by businesses and government, it is the customers and taxpayers paying the ultimate price.

The environmental and health effects of driving impose the most serious external costs on society.  Motor vehicles are the largest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants and contribute to 65% of ozone forming pollutants in Vermont.  Even at low levels, these toxic emissions pose a serious threat to our health. Nearly 200,000 children and elderly are frequently exposed to unhealthy levels of smog.  Air pollution levels from cars are fluctuating and their effects on health is difficult to quantify, but it is undeniable that they are costly and they are not appropriately accounted for in the current price we pay to drive.

Public health, in general, could be vastly improved if we chose more active modes of transportation such as walking or cycling.  Active transportation is one of the most practical and effective ways to promote public fitness, as there is not always enough time in the day to get the necessary half hour of moderate exercise recommended by health professionals.  However, vehicle ownership deters individuals from alternative and active modes of transportation. For one, cars are convenient. Also, because we feel so financially invested in our vehicles, our general preference is to maximize our investment and drive.  Thus, an often-ignored, non-financial cost of driving and vehicle-ownership is the lost opportunity to pursue more healthy and active modes of transportation.

Roadways and parking lots amount to large areas of impervious surfaces, which create an additional environmental issue: storm water.  Storm water management requires expensive infrastructure to drain the local rainfall into Lake Champlain, carrying with it all the sediments, trash, and other materials washed from the streets.  The various substances drained into the lake can result in algal blooms, bacterial contamination, and suspended sediments that block out vital sunlight.  The public experiences the direct effects and pays the costs for the pollution in Lake Champlain.  For example, the lake is our source of drinking water, and higher levels of toxics and contaminants results in increased water-treatment costs. Beach closures due to contamination have economic implications and inconvenience the public on nice summer days.  Such burdens are the outcomes of excessive roadways and pavement, which stem from an under-priced transportation system that does not reflect all of the external costs associated with it.  
 
Driving has many substantial costs that are not considered because they are borne indirectly. Being a conscious consumer surely extends into the realm of transportation, and driving less accomplishes just that. Of course, if we want people to drive less we need to create a built environment that allows people to live with fewer cars without missing out on opportunities to work, socialize, or meet everyday needs. And we need to provide alternatives. The more transportation options we have, the more chances for people to drive less.  

A hearty thanks to all of you who helped make our first Share the Love Bash a HUGE success.  Main Street Landing's Union Station was buzzing with over 100 partygoers of all ages, dressed to the nines and reportedly having a blast.  We're thrilled that we delivered on our promise to throw a fun party with scrumptious food and festive entertainment (THANK YOU Mirabelle's, Stone Soup, Sugarsnap, House of LeMay, Aaron Stein, Vermont Photo Booth, and Hunter Houde). We're even happier that so many people gathered to celebrate CarShare Vermont's first year!
 
Not only did we have a great time together, but we also surpassed our fundraising goal! Our silent auction was brimming with items, and everything sold! Between event sponsorships, ticket sales, and auction proceeds, we raised almost $10,000. We cannot thank our many auction donors, volunteers, sponsors, and partygoers enough for your generous contributions and support. Thank you!
 
We're already looking forward to Share the Love II in 2011! 

We’re frequently asked to help people figure out if joining CarShare Vermont will save them money. We’re confident that in most instances it will, but it really depends on each person’s circumstances. We try to provide our potential members and interested onlookers alike with the information they need to make that highly personal decision for themselves. With this in mind, we wanted to share some information with you. With spring around the corner, it’s a good time to think about clearing the cobwebs, and that extra car from your garage!

Owning a car is expensive, plain and simple. Nationally, transportation is the second highest household expense next to housing, consuming about 20% of annual household income (the percentage is actually higher for both rural and low-income households). Not surprisingly, vehicle ownership is the most costly of transportation expenditures. Individuals and families that are able to reduce vehicle ownership with other modes—like walking, biking, riding the bus, and car-sharing—are proven to spend significantly less on transportation than those who primarily get around by car.

So how much does it really cost to own a car? There are two types of costs: fixed and variable. The bulk of the costs are fixed—they include what you originally spent to purchase the vehicle, depreciation (the value your vehicle loses from the time you bought it to the time you get rid of it), financing charges, insurance, registration and fees, and for older cars, major repairs needed to keep the car running. According to AAA’s 2009 edition of “Your Driving Costs,” Americans spend an average of $477 a month to own a mid-sized sedan. This hefty sum does not include the costs of actually driving the car. These operating costs are the variable expenses and include things like gas, tires, and routine maintenance. When you count the variable expenses, you can add an additional 16¢ per mile to the monthly ownership cost. If you drive 10,000 miles per year, that’s an additional $133 per month. In comparison, most of our members spend less than $100 a month car-sharing.

If you’d like to figure out what you spend on car ownership, AAA provides a simple worksheet for you to plug in your figures. If you’re unsure what you spend on depreciation, you can use AAA’s estimate of $200 per month, or you can find a number of handy calculators online that can help you figure it out based on the age of your vehicle, how much you paid for it, and how long you plan to keep it (just google vehicle depreciation calculator and you’ll be on your way).

So now that we’ve got you thinking about how much your car costs (or cars if you own more than one), we can now offer some guidance about how to decide if CarShare Vermont can save you money. Generally speaking, if you drive one of your vehicles less than 8,000 miles a year and you can reliably get to work without using your car (e.g. by walking, biking, bussing, or carpooling), then it’s safe to say that CarShare Vermont is a sound replacement for that vehicle. If you must drive to work because your employer requires you to use your car for work travel, ask them if they’ll reimburse you for your CarShare Vermont usage—often our rates are cheaper than reimbursing for mileage (find out more at www.carsharevt.org/how-it-works-business). You can then calculate what you’d spend car-sharing by thinking through how frequently you’d use our service and the types of trips you’d go on (distance and duration). You can then plug in our rates to roughly estimate the cost on a monthly basis. We’re also happy to help you crunch the numbers.

Now if you’re holding onto that extra vehicle because it’s a so-called junker that’s been in your family for years and you’ve already “paid” for it, then please consider this: owning a car is the number one factor that contributes to excess driving. When people own a car, it becomes the default mode of choice because it’s convenient, and because there’s a perverse incentive to get your money’s worth out of it. By simply getting rid of that old family chariot, you will soon opt for modes that are more cost effective than driving, and which also happen to yield the least environmental impact, offer numerous health benefits, and enhance our community as a whole.

In Burlington, we’re very fortunate to have a reliable bus system, bike-able streets, and safe sidewalks to move around car-free. When a car is truly needed, car-sharing fills in the gap, along with taxis and car rentals. Collectively, these options can make living car-free or car-light a viable option. Moreover, families that have taken the plunge and gotten rid of a car before joining CarShare Vermont tend to use our service substantially less than they anticipated, saving even more money. This is largely because the costs of car-sharing are more transparent with each use, and so there is financial incentive to prioritize cheaper modes. Also, CarShare Vermont members become adept at getting around car-free and start to enjoy these other modes even more.

Whether or not car-sharing makes sense for you, we’re always more than happy to help you with your decision. We also hope that you’ll continue to recognize the benefit of our service to others, and to the community.