Hybrid Car Sharing Comes to St. Louis
With more people interested in the environmental and gas saving benefits of the hybrid vehicle industry, the rental car industry is jumping on the bandwagon. Customers in St. Louis will have the opportunity to try out the new hybrid rental program in one of the first in the nation programs.
The Toyota Prius hybrid is one of nine hybrid cars that will be available to anyone who lives in downtown St. Louis or any downtown worker who needs to get across town and is willing to pay the by the hour rental fee . WeCar, downtown St. Louis’ first car sharing program, started Tuesday and is designed to help people who need a car sometimes, but would rather not use their own vehicle, or have to lay out the cash to buy a car when they only need one occasionally.
“I’ll definitely use it,” said Sarah Stewart of south St. Louis County. Stewart is an urban planner with the Lawrence Group who drives to work. She says that she will use the Toyota Prius parked in front of her building regulary. Using WeCar for lunch time tasks will save her the time walking to the parking garage and then looking for an open parking space when she gets to where she is going . With WeCar, the parking space is provided for car sharers.
Car sharing is common in other cities throughout the country, giving many city dwellers who would rather not buy their own car easy access to cars for rent. WeCar is offered through Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Clayton Country, which first began the program last month at Washington University. So far, over 100 staff and students have signed up to use the six hybrids at WU’s main campus, and one at the university’s medical center, said Steve Salemi, group rental manager for the company.
The option was brought to downtown by Enterprise and the St. Louis Car Sharing Cooperative, led by Citizens for Modern Transit.
The program is designed to be simple to use. Interested users must sign up at www.wecar.com/stl. A membership packet is mailed to those who enrolled. The package includes a personal identification number and a key fob which is used to open the car. Reservations can be made any time and for any available location online. The driver than swipes the key fob over the keypad in the driver’s side windshield to open the car. The car key is in inside the glove box, which must be opened with the member’s personal identification number. The driver must then return the car to the parking space when the reservation is over. WeCar attendants will check cars for cleanliness and damage daily.
The downtown program has a $35 annual membership fee. A Prius rents for $10 an hour, except for between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 a.m., when rental rates are a flat overnight fee of $30. Fuel and 24-hour customer service is included, making it a safe option for women traveling alone.
Mayor Francis Slay said, “It will help the environment.It will also give people more options as far as commuting. Some people would like to take light rail or the bus to work but they need the flexibility during the day. They can use the WeCar.”
