Car-sharing: transportation solution or eco-hoax?

• Author: Fitz, Don

In cities across the US, people are hearing of new car-sharing programs that let subscribers drive cars for a few hours at a time. It's promoted as a way to reduce toxins and [CO.sub.2] emissions by allowing drivers to leave their cars at home, take mass transit to work, and rent a car for trips during the day.

But is there any evidence that car-sharing actually reduces the number of cars on the road? Or could it be an eco-hoax that generates money for a few car rental companies while actually making environmental problems worse?

In January 2008, Enterprise Rent-A-Car trumpeted its introduction of a car-sharing program at Washington University in St. Louis. The local press ate up the story, which appeared repeatedly on local TV, radio and papers.

The West End Word (1) announced that the Enterprise venture, called WeCar, was the first-of-a-kind "environmentally friendly" program for St. Louis. By paying $10 an hour for a Toyota Prius or $12 per hour for a Ford Enterprise, students, staff and faculty could do their little bit for the environment.

Washington University's own newspaper, the Record, (2) displayed a photo of a hybrid WeCar on the front page as it patted itself on the back for the school's environmental conscience. It beamed that the program "is part of the University's push to promote sustainability. The program utilizes exclusively hybrid vehicles and keeps other cars off the road, reducing carbon emissions."

The press stories parroted the company's claim that many drive to work only because they occasionally need a car for an errand or emergency trip. The WeCar would supposedly encourage drivers to use mass transportation because they would know that a car is available for day time needs. In other words, the moral virtue of car-sharing is that it should reduce the number of cars on the road.

But the less than progressive St. Louis Post-Dispatch let the cat out of the bag. (3) Its story began with an account of a student who would use WeCar instead of mass transit. The student recalled "the misery of lugging bags from Target and Best Buy on the Metrolink and then back to her dorm room." For this student, and who knows how many others, there would be no push to improve the St. Louis train system because WeCar would help replace mass transit use with individual car rental.

The next month, Enterprise Rent-A-Car expanded its car-sharing program to downtown St. Louis. Again, the Post-Dispatch had no trouble finding someone who...