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Sunday, March 27, 2011

12:44 PM

Easy US Commute Mode Web Site

Ever wonder where the highest percentage of carpooling commuters is in the US?  (Hint, it's not in California or New Jersey.)  Now a new web site easily and quickly gives the answer.

As regular readers are aware I'm fascinated by the amount of useful transportation data available on the web.  In the past I've mention the excellent and customizable Housing + Transportation nationwide maps put out by the Center for Neighborhood Technology in Chicago.  

Now FindTheBest.com has put up a web site that slices through a thin section of US Census data, making it very easy to compare commute modes for US cities. 



Find the Best Mode of Transportation to Work
(Click on the Find the Best title to open the web page in a separate window.)


Using data from the 2008 American Community Survey, commute mode search provides worker population, percentages for drive alone, public transportation, walking carpool, taxi/motorcycle/other. Sadly, bicycle commuting is lumped in with "other".  The site also allows users to easily filter the data in a variety of ways - not only by state, but also general city size (small, medium large) or, if you want, more precisely by specific worker population ranges.

Answer to the carpooling question: Woodburn, Oregon had the highest percentage of carpooling in the US!  Who would have guessed?

Currently, FindtheBest.com has data in over 800 items in a variety of categories, both data and products. The data source for each rating is provided.  Take a look.  (Thanks to WalkScore for tipping me off to this.)
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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

4:08 PM

Making A Mint in Boston


Boston-Cambridge is getting pretty crowded with carsharing companies.  With the arrival of Mint Cars on Demand, there are now 6 carsharing companies in the area.  This may be a record number for any single city - beating Berlin or Shanghai's totals.

Mint opens its Bean-town operation with 10 locations, each starting with 2 vehicles in the "classic" and "economy" rate classes.  They are in the prime North End and Cambridge area and all are off-street locations.  The signature Smart cars from Manhattan operation do not appear to have made it to the Boston fleet.  Mint reportedly has about 100 vehicles in New York City.

Mint shook up the New Yoirk carsharing market a while back with an audacious marketing campaign of $2 per hour weekday rates to attract new members.  Currently they feature 3 classes of vehicles ranging from $4.00 to $11.70 per hour and daily rates of $55 to $119 depending on vehicle, plan and day of the week.  All rates include 180 miles.

One of the ways Mint keeps rates low is that they do not automatically include full insurance coverage, but only state minimum coverage (similar to Connect By Hertz).  Mint offers additional Collision Damage Waiver coverage, either on a per trip or annual basis, for people who are not already included on a personal auto insurance policy.

Mint was founded in Oct. 2008 by Richard Ull, owner and operator of a number of NYC parking facilities.  In 2009 he was quoted in Auto Rental News as saying "“If I wasn’t in a car parking business, I wouldn’t own a car sharing business right now.”

I have to admit, I never would have guessed Mint to be the next contender at the Boston carsharing joust!  But it's is a logical choice because parking is difficult, public transportation is good and the customer demographics are favorable for carsharing.  And besides, Zipcar has been developing a pool of potential customers for over 10 years so that Mint and other carshares can draw from. It seems likely that many customers may be members of several carsharing companies in order to have goood access to the closest vehicles to their home or work.

Best of luck to all contenders.
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Monday, March 21, 2011

3:20 PM

BMW enters the one-way carsharing market

Those premium German car companies must know something we don't!

BMW announced it was getting into the one-way carsharing business in Munich, with a fleet of 300 BMW 1-series and Minis, starting in April; followed by 500 vehicles in Berlin.  They're calling it "Premium Carsharing".

Parking will be a combination of floating, on street parking and garages within the large "Mittler Ring" area of Munich.

Drive-Now application fee will €29 (about $40 US). The charge for using vehicles is €0.29 per minute, which includes sales tax (the same rate that Daimler is charging in Hamburg). The Mini Cooper will have a maximum hourly charge of €14.90.   Drive-Now offers a special rate allowing  a customer can interrupt a trip but keep the DriveNow vehicle "on hold" at a cost of €0.10 per minute.  This addresses one of the common concerns customers worry about with one-way service.

The service, Drive-Now, will be 50-50 owned by BMW and Sixt Car Rental, with BMW providing the cars and technology and Sixt handlihng the operations.  BMW has created a new division for the service - BMWi - the i for innovation to indicate they're more than just an auto manufacturer.  BMW and Sixt say they aiming to provide service in many countries with a goal of 1 million members by 2020.

Of course, there's a app (!) to locate the closest vehicles.

This has got to have the existing carsharing companies in these cities worried (some more than others):
  • München - StattAuto München, DB Carsharing and Drive Carsharing; and 
  • Berlin - Cambio, Hertz Connect, Stadtmobil, DB Carsharing, Sixti Car Club (competing with their own brand) and Greenwheels 
Presumably Daimler car2go  executives are unhappy that the field is getting more crowded - especially with more versatile 4 door vehicles at competitive rates.

And what impact will this have on Zipcar's world strategy?

But perhaps it will be a repeat of the situation a decade ago when first generation carsharing companies worried about competition but found there was plenty of room for several companies in major cities - perhaps the existence of competition legitimizes the concept in consumers' minds?  But since application fees are so low, customers could certainly afford to join multiple services.

The launch of a second one-way carsharing service should put cities on notice that they need to "think outside of the box" to develop parking policies that not only accommodate these new mobility services, such as one-way carsharing and bikesharing but also promote them!  In the long run, I expect these services are going to be more like a public utility than anything else.   Although this will have beneficial effects for residents, if a city generates any significant revenues from vehicle registration fees, they will likely see this source decline, just as we're seeing lower gas tax revenues.
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2:20 PM

Car2Go and Taxis

(Note: this article has been signficantly updated since the original posting.  - Dave)

Logically, you'd think that car2go's one way service would be a threat to taxi companies. And at least in one European country you might be right.  According to a recent article in Die Welt am Sonntag, taxi drivers in Germany aren't feeling too threatened by car2go.

According to the Feb. 1, 2011 article by Steffen Fründt, the taxi business in Germany is cashing in.  50,000 taxis driven by 22,500 operators (many are one-person companies) and did more than 3.5 billion Euro business in 2010.  (They do this driving about 2.6 hours of the 9.5 hours average shift, the article says.)  And taxi operators in Germany have done a good job using regulations to keep others, such as van services, from poaching their core business.  As in other countries, taking people to airports and transporting seniors seems to be a major part of their business.

In the article Thomas Gratz of the Taxi- und Mietwagenverbands BZP (Taxi and Rental Car Association) is quoted saying he doesn't think car2go poses much of a threat.  Given that the majority of car2go users are between 18 - 35 years old, the article explains:

"The highest trump in the sector was the demographics, "says Thomas Gratz of the taxi association. "There are more old people, and are more likely than the young to rely on a taxi." Seniors become loyal clientele for taxis, which can be driven to shopping, hairdressing, opera or dialysis. "In rural areas, ambulance runs make for some entrepreneurs from 70 to 80 percent of the business," says Gratz. The biggest competitor to the taxi industry was the DRC.

Gratz was quote saying that the biggest threat to taxis are van services, which are currently restricted, getting a foothold in Germany.  No doubt he's right but it seems to me likely car2go will have an effect.  

Meanwhile in Spain

Thanks to local intel, I've been made aware that taxi drivers in the city of Valencia are feeling a lot more threatened by the possibility of car2go coming to that Mediterranean coastal city.  Following initial conversation with car2go last November, the President of Valencia Taxi Federation and came out strongly opposed, according to the El Mundo newspaper in Valencia.  
"We do not want this project to go forward because it proposes a service that goes directly into competition of the taxi industry, "said Juan Antonio Guardeño, the head of the federation.  He explained that taxis have experienced a 40% drop in business as a result of economic crisis, which has reportedly affected Spain much worse than Germany.
Reader response to the taxi drivers' complaint on the El Mundo web site seems mostly in favor of having a car2go option.  Said one writer: "It seems ridiculous for the taxi drivers, or whoever, to protest improved citizen services. I am sure there will be many users of this service as soon as it is started.  I'm sick of the blood sucking taxi drivers who let other car and van delay them in order to scrape a few pennies more my pocket - as if they don't already have enough."


My 2¢


It would appear the taxi drivers in Valencia need to do a little PR, at least with one customer!  And as a commenter in Valencia he taxi observed, the taxi companies did not oppose a one-way bike sharing system, which, arguably, will affect their business, at least slightly.  


Any new innovation that "gets traction" (to use a car metaphor) results in winners and losers.  My guess is that, overall, taxis will lose less than they think from one-way carsharing in their cities.  But, I can certainly understand that it's in their interest to do what they can to minimize these losses.  And it is ultimately the duty of city governments to do balance competing interests to do what's best, overall, for their city.  


Overall, car manufacturers will be the big losers - but they're already watching the decline in sales in their home markets and thinking about options — such as one-way carsharing.   

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Sunday, March 13, 2011

6:24 PM

P2P Carsharing Law Moving Ahead in Oregon

I've been helping coordinate proposed changes to Oregon law to specify insurance requirements for P2P carsharing, which we're calling "personal vehicle carsharing" here.  The proposal is modeled on California AB 1871 and specifies:

  • Defines personal vehicle carsharing
  • Specifies that the Personal Vehicle carsharing company must provide insurance that is at least 3x the state minimum requirements
  • Limits the amount of money a vehicle owner can earn from renting their vehicle out to their maximum of their actual expenses
  • Prohibits personal auto insurers from canceling the policy because the owner is participating in a legitimate Personal Vehicle Carsharing program.


I'm pleased to report that HB 3149 has passed the Oregon House Committee on Transportation and Economic Development.  On going details of the progress of this legislation can be found at a separate blog I set up P2P Carsharing Oregon.

This effort is the result of networking by Alan Durning of Sightline Institute in Seattle, and Chris Hagerbaumer of the Oregon Environmental Council, who connected me up with others in the state that were interested in the same changes.

Stay tuned
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Wednesday, March 2, 2011

4:26 PM

Car2go opens for business in Hamburg

Hamburg became Car2go's second city in Germany, which opened for business last week. Unlike other operations, the service is operated by EuropCar, which will have a majority 75-percent stake in this shared project. Reports suggest that this relationship may be extended to other cities in the future.

 The Hamburg car2go launch is set to start with 300 vehicles. Prices for car2go usage in Hamburg will be 0.29 € per minute or at least 14.90 € per hour.  Here's a link to the map showing the large area that one way trips can end in.



Daimler has high hopes for car2go.  Last year Daimler Chief Financial Officer Bodo Uebber told the Financial Times Germany, that "it might have revenue potential comparable to our vehicle manufacturing" (rough translation).  Some analysts have calculated that car2go has a worldwide market potential of more than 100 million € is possible. The FT article indicated that Daimler was still considering whether to take the service to Paris using their Smart ED electric drive vehicles.

Daimler has some unique advantages in considering alternative mobility concepts, such as car2go and their dynamic ridesharing "app" car2gether, since they don't have any "entry level" brands or models, they can pursue the carsharing and car-alternative sector without fear of cannibalizing their up-market cars.

Previously, Daimler reminded us that in the first year of Ulm project, almost 18,000 customers had signed up, taking more than 235,000 trips. On average, the trips were used 30 to 60 minutes long and about 15 km. Daimler claims that in Ulm one in three driver's license holders between 18 and 35 years old is a car2go customer.

Meanwhile, there's still no confirmation about the second North American car2go city.
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3:27 PM

Carsharing News from Europe

In Germany, Autoflotte Online passes on the good news about carsharing from the German carsharing association, Bundesverband Carsharing (BCS):

Mirroring the trend in the US, carsharing membership in Germany grew by of 20.3% from the previous year to 190,000. High growth was reported in the larger cities while membership in smaller carsharing companies (less than 20 vehicles) grew about 15% in 2010.


As of the end of 2010 there were 128 (!) carsharing companies in Germany operating about 5,000 vehicles, an increase of 400 vehicles for the year, or about 8.7% These vehicles were at 2,400 stations - an increase of 9.1% locations (remember, Germany still does not officially allow on-street parking of carsharing vehicles).  The BCS continues to press for a change in German federal law to make on-street parking possible outside of the few pilot projects.


Other big carsharing news from Germany - car2go's expansion to Hamburg - will be covered in a separate post.

EVs in Carsharing

The interest in electric vehicle extends to Europe, as well.   In November Cambio carsharing, in partnership with Greenpeace, introduced several Mitsubishi iMiev vehicles in the Hamburg fleet. Cambio is charging 2.80 € per hour + 17 cents per kilometer. They are requiring members wanting to drive the EVs to attend a special driving school.

And Drive Carsharing added some 3 wheel electric vehicles in a project with German telematics provider Wollnikom according to AutoFlotte Online.

And in Brussels, Belgium, Zen Car launched as an all electric carsharing fleet.  Initially, 29 cars will be at 15 locations.  Rates are set at 7 € per hour with no distance charge (smart move!)   Zen Car is funded by Société Régionale d'Investissement de Bruxelles.

Carsharing "Embryonic but Promising" in France

Meanwhile in France, market research company Groupe Xerfi calls Autopartage "embryonic but promising".   Their report says that French carsharing companies grossed €12.5 million from about 25,000 members and predicted that membership could reach 140,000 members by 2015 with revenues at least 6 times greater.   According to France Autopartage, currently, there are 17 carsharing companies in France, with 5 of them in Paris.

Xerfi says the growth of carsharing in France has been "modest", behind some other countries, but point point to the Paris Autolib program (and general government leadership in the area), as well as interest from major companies like Veolia Transportation, Vinci parking and Hertz Connect (now with an estimated 3,000 subscribers in Paris after two years of operation).  Still, they caution that carsharing is struggling to find a viable economic model (sounds like some other carsharing companies I know).  You can read the full Xerfi report for a mere 1,500 € (and if you do, tell me more...)
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12:17 PM

The latest numbers — 7,776 carsharing vehicles in North America

This just in from Adam Cohen at the UC Berkeley Innovative Mobility Center.  As of January 2011:

  • In the US: 27 carsharing programs claimed 518,520 members sharing 7,776 vehicles.

  • In Canada:  17 carsharing organizations claimed 85,439 members sharing 2,342 vehicles.

During the past year there's been almost no growth in the US carsharing fleet - according to the IMC industry survey, there were 7588 in January 2010 but the the reported membership grew from 388,089 - an increase of 33%.   This means that one of the key metrics driving vehicle use - the member to vehicle ratio - grew from 51:1 to 66:1.  Although IMC doesn't report individual carshare performance, Zipcar is the dominant influence on these numbers.

In Canada during the past year there was slight growth in fleet numbers - up 199 vehicles.  Membership grew by 37% up from 61,944 in Jan. 2010 and member to vehicle ratios increased from 29:1 to 36:1 - no doubt improving the financial position of Canadian operators. 

Looking back a little earlier, there been a 33% in US carsharing vehicles since July 2008, and a 40% increase of the carsharing fleet in Canada.   

I'll be posting some numbers from Germany shortly.

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