Does your town want to share?

Future expansion

As our name implies, CarShare Vermont has noble aspirations to expand to other Vermont towns. Since our launch, we’ve been working hard to develop a sustainable model that we can replicate. In a short time, we’ve learned a lot about what makes car-sharing viable here in Burlington, and what factors can contribute to or thwart its success elsewhere.

Any expansion effort—whether as near as Essex or as far away as Brattleboro—requires two core things: funding and community support. First and foremost, car-sharing can only be successful if there’s a critical mass of people and organizations that will regularly utilize it. With this in mind, local grassroots support is necessary to get the word out in a big way. Additionally, capital is needed to add vehicles to our fleet and support our growth. As daunting as this all may sound, we believe CarShare Vermont can thrive in other communities and we’re committed to trying.

Thanks to funding from the High Meadows Fund, we’ve developed a Community How-to Guide that outlines what factors support car-sharing, what resources are needed to make it successful, and how you can help us expand to your neck of the woods. If you’re interested in bringing CarShare Vermont to your community, please contact us for a copy of our guide. We’ll be happy to share it and offer guidance as you begin to use it.

Next up: Winooski

CarShare Vermont plans to bring our network across the river to Winooski in 2012. During the past two years, we have been busy conducting market research and creating an appetite for car-sharing in the Onion City. We’re excited to announce that we recently secured funding for our first Winooski car, which will be located at Spinner Place. If you’re eager to share cars in Winooski, please get in touch so we can add you to our contact list and keep you informed of our progress.