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.

    “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. 

A look in the rearview mirror: our first year

It’s hard to believe that Tuesday, December 15th, will be our first birthday.  Some of you may remember that blustery morning we gathered on Church Street last year to celebrate the arrival of car-sharing in Burlington with the unveiling of our fleet. Full of excitement and optimism, we hoped that our community would embrace car-sharing and that, together, we’d reduce our dependence on cars, save money and fuel, and improve the environment.  While we’re still young and continuously learning, we’re thrilled to report that we couldn’t be happier about our first year’s accomplishments. Please read on learn more about them, get a glimpse of where we’re headed, and also find out how we’ll be celebrating our birthday all week long. We hope you’ll join us in the festivities!  

• We've added almost 450 members in our first year, including residents, 12 local businesses, and more than 100 students from UVM and Champlain College!
• Every car in our fleet is used an average of five hours per day—that’s a lot of sharing and double our goal!
• With nine cars in our network, we estimate that we’ve helped remove 30 cars from the road as our members have gotten rid of second (and third) cars.
• More than 30 passionate volunteers have gotten involved with CarShare Vermont and helped us tremendously—from our beloved board and committee members to stellar interns, pod nannies, outreach gurus, graphic designers, attorneys, fleet assistants, and the like—we truly are an example of a community’s commitment to change.
• We participated in more than 50 events this past year, including parades, festivals, and conferences; and we’ve also spread the love about car-sharing by giving dozens of presentations all over Burlington and beyond.
• The Campus Area Transportation Management Association (CATMA), UVM, and Champlain College continue to champion car-sharing for students, faculty, and staff and have committed to sponsoring CarShare Vermont vehicles on campus for the next three years—way to go!
• The City of Burlington recently joined us in an effort to reduce car commuting among employees, save on transportation costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CEDO is the first city department to sign up, and others will be following suit in the coming year.
• Of course, we would not have been able to accomplish the above without the support of our members, volunteers, supporters, and partner organizations. There are too many of you to list, but please know that we share our success with you and look forward to achieving even more together.

Come celebrate with us all week long!

Tell us why you love us. . . and be entered to win free driving credits!

When you stop by anytime this week between Tuesday and Friday, you'll have a chance to confess to our video camera all the reasons you love car sharing.  Not only will you be rewarded with a birthday treat - you'll be entered to win free driving credits in our "i love sharing" birthday raffle!

We offer our sincere thanks for helping to make CarShare Vermont’s first year a success. We're looking forward continuing to build our services to help increase the transportation possiblities for folks in Vermont.

In the meantime, we wish you a peaceful and joyful holiday season.

Save the date, mark your calendar and head out to these community events!

Thursday, November 5, 7:00pm-9:00pm
Greek Orthodox Church, 600 South Willard Street
Ward 6 NPA meeting
Presentation on our community endeavors & feedback from Ward 6 residents.

Wednesday, November 11, 7:00pm-9:00pm
UVM's Waterman Building, Memorial Lounge
Ward 1 NPA meeting
Presentation on our community endeavors & feedback from Ward 1 residents.

Wednesday, November 18, 5:30pm-7:00pm
Keen's Crossing Community Room, 65 Winooski Falls Way, Winooski
Winooski Car-Sharing Expansion Project Community Open House
Open house to discuss Carshare Vermont's initiative to bring cars to Winooski in 2010. Come to learn more, provide insight into how car-sharing could work in Winooski, and enjoy snacks.

Thursday, November 26
Wherever you are
THANKSGIVING DAY! 
We'd like to give thanks to you all for your support and your willingness to try something new this year! If you are sharing cars this weekend, we'll still be there to help you if you need it. Just call us on the emergency line (the office will be closed).

Want to get involved and share your love of car-sharing with the rest of the community?  We're always looking for new volunteers to help with outreach, car-washing, snow shoveling, and more! To find out more, contact Karen at karen@carsharevt.org.

Starting November 16th, we’ll have a new downtown pod in the public parking lot at the corner of Main St. and S. Winooski Ave. Please join us in thanking the City of Burlington for making this prime parking space available to CarShare Vermont!
 
Unfortunately, this exciting news does come with a flipside. Since we do not currently have the capacity to add a new car to our fleet, we must temporarily close an existing pod to make a vehicle for this location.  We’ve decided to move Otto, a handsome gray Prius that currently lives at the corner of N. Williams and Brookes Ave., to the new downtown pod. This decision was based on Otto’s performance compared to the rest of the pack, as well as the fact that there are several cars nearby Otto’s former pod location. We made our best effort to move the car that would adversely impact the fewest members. That said, we’re working hard to add more vehicles in 2010, and we’ll try to return Otto to his N. Williams St. home when we do.
 
One final note on pods: as the snowy months draw near, please remember that a few of our pods have alternative winter parking locations that make on-street parking bans and snow removal easier to manage. We’ll share more details soon so please stay tuned. And if you live near a pod and want to volunteer to be a winter pod nanny (and receive a discounted membership), please email info@carsharevt.org for more information. Thank you!

The artists may be bound to their homes, but this month thanks to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf and CarShare Vermont, their art won’t be! These two local non-profits have teamed up to bring the works of several homebound artists out from behind close doors in a show entitled “Art from Home: A Personal Journey”. This show was the inspiration of Alice Anton, homebound program coordinator for the Chittenden Food Shelf.  She realized that despite a profound sense of isolation and loneliness, several folks had special talents. “For many of the people showing their art pieces, it will be the first time their art will be hung on a wall and viewed by others,” says Anton. “The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf is fostering a sense of community for the participants and giving the program participants a connection with the greater Burlington community.”

When Anton was looking for a space to show, she was looking for a business that attracts people from all walks of life, and one that is mindful of its connection with the region and the community.  That’s when she discovered CarShare Vermont. Community is a central component of the vision of CarShare Vermont. It is for this reason that CarShare Vermont is delighted to have the opportunity to share their walls with the Chittenden Food Shelf artists for the month. “Sharing is a fantastic way to encourage community awareness and health,” Karen McNeill Saielli, outreach coordinator at CarShare Vermont said. “While we generally reserve our wall space for our member-artists, sharing our walls with this group of artists seemed like a great opportunity to enhance our community.”

The upcoming show will feature about twenty art pieces, with a variety of styles and techniques including acrylic paintings, oil, charcoal drawing, and poetry. Most homebound individuals choose to represent scenes from memory or from their imagination, but portraits and abstracts are also among pieces the viewers will appreciate. Creating art is a way for clients to escape their daily routine. For homebound client Claire, poetry is a way “to live vicariously through other people and remember when I could walk”.

“Art from Home: A Personal Journey” will be showing from October 14^th to November 15^th at the CarShare Vermont office at 131 St. Paul Street in downtown Burlington. An opening reception will be held October 14^th from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. Drop by, see the works, and support these amazing folks! This is a free event.

The car needs a name!  

We're holding a naming contest to come up with a name for our newest arrival. If you think you have good idea, send it to info@carsharevt.org along with the reason why we should choose this name for the car. If our naming committee agrees that your name is the best choice, you'll win a free annual share-a-lot membership to CarShare Vermont ($150 value)!* 

Help us spread the word!

If you are a New North End neighbor, or have friends in the neighborhood, help us spread the word and make this pod a success! You can start a conversation on Front Porch Forum, hold a house party for your friends, or tell your neighbors about our naming contest. There are lots of ways to get involved and help make this pod a success, and we truly appreciate your help! If you'd like to get more involved, check out our volunteer opportunities!

Join us to celebrate!

We'll be hosting a launch party in the parking lot of Ace Hardware on October 17 from about 11-1 and would love it if you'll join us!  Ace Hardware is going to pull out their grill and a number of local businesses have offered to provide some good food for the day. Mark it on your calendars and bring your friends!

* The fine print: This award has no cash value. Membership is conditional on applicant approval, based on eligibility. You must be able to provide CarShare Vermont with a valid license number(s), as well as a valid debit or credit card number.  As a member, you are responsible for a one-time non-refundable $30 application fee, plus hourly and mileage charges & any other fees or penalties incurred during your membership.

We are proud to introduce Kevyn Cundiff as our newest artist-member displaying her works in our office.  Her works are gracing our walls this month, and we'd love for you to stop by and take a look anytime!  

Here's a little of what Kevyn has to say:

Originally trained as an archaeological illustrator, I have moved through a variety of careers. My interest in stained glass began in the early 1990’s, and after a 12-year break has been revived with a focus on pet portraits, of all things. With them I try to capture, in glass, the reasons our pets are an essential part of our happiness and wellbeing.

I am self-taught and learn daily. My designs mainly come from people who want to immortalize their pets—or someone else’s pet; a lot are given as gifts. Ideas also come from strolling everywhere from Church Street to Shelburne Farms, as well as observing Mr. Whatsit, my model I keep on retainer.

I have had shows in a myriad of venues, from coffee shops to office buildings to veterinarians, including The Village Wine and Coffee, Arts Alive Festival, Homeport, Vergennes Animal Hospital, Speeder and Earls, Allscripts, Art Hop, and Reflections at Basin Harbor and now CarShare Vermont

I have a perfectly good car, but it is 105 in dog years, and I have a box in the basement--a surprisingly large box--full of all the pieces that have fallen off--none of them being the motor. Yet. So CarShare Vermont is insurance for me, because when I have a carpool full of ballerinas to take to dance class, not going is not an option. I love knowing we can all pirouette down to Nora and get there safely and a heckofalot cheaper than renting a car for one day for just a one-hour trip.

I am delighted to show my artwork here because CarShare Vermont types are the kind of people who appreciate the finer things in life. My dream is that someone will come in off the street, lured by my artwork, and become a member. And, yes, maybe take home one of my pieces, too.

Kevyn Cundiff

Kevyn@cundiff.com • www.Thediff.biz • h: 802.864.6948  • c: 802.338.0436

55 Ledgemere St. Burlington, Vermont

Big Heavy World brings local music to CarShare Vermont

Have you looked in the glove box of your favorite CarShare car lately?  If so, you may have noticed a new addition! Thanks to Big Heavy World, a local non-profit dedicated to preserving and promoting Vermont music, we now have shared CDs full of local music in the cars! Check out "In Silver Light" and "Thrufters and Throughstones" next time you take a car out for a spin!