Car share program shifts to higher gear
Concept catching on nationwide, starts to take shape in Nevada City
By Josh Singer
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12:01 a.m. PT Sep 6, 2006
A car-sharing program is revving up in Nevada City, one of the first small communities to experiment with the environmentally-friendly concept.
"It's the first in the Sierras," said Mike Foxfoot, one of the movement's founders.
Foxfoot and Reinette Senum, Nevada City residents with two used, gray vehicles, say that after years of talking about a plan for people to drive communal cars they have finally shifted into a higher gear.
A Mercedes-Benz sedan and Ford pick-up truck, to be powered with biodiesel fuel, are ready for driving. Foxfoot and Senum have begun discussing logistics with environmental groups and the Nevada City City Council.
Car-sharing programs have become popular alternatives or supplements to car ownership across the nation after being used elsewhere in the world. In 2006, 17 U.S. car-sharing programs had 101,993 members using 2,558 vehicles, according to figures on carsharing.net.
Communal cars can help reduce pollution, traffic and costs. Sharing cars means fewer vehicles on the road, which cuts traffic, road damage and pollution caused by car emissions.
The two vehicles for Nevada City's program will run on biodiesel fuel, Foxfoot said, chemically modified vegetable oil that is better for air quality than other gasoline.
Most car-sharing programs exist in large cities with solid networks of public transportation. Nevada City's lack of convenient public transportation will be a main hurdle to starting up the local car-sharing program, Senum said.
Other challenges include finding a non-profit group to work with, so the car-sharing program can have designated parking spaces downtown. Parking spaces would help people to find the car or truck when they are scheduled to use them and also allow Foxfoot, the "car guy," to track mileage and do maintenance.
"(Nevada City City Council) overall is supportive" of the "great idea," Councilor David McKay said of car-sharing, but parking spaces cannot be given to a for-profit group.
Foxfoot said ideal parking spaces would be across from the Nevada City Post Office on Coyote Street, near the Sierra Nevada Permaculture Center where he works.
Kate Sholly, a potential treasurer on the Board of Directors for the car-sharing group, said there has been some difficulty negotiating the government channels needed in order to make car-sharing a reality in Nevada City. There is a "huge learning curve for people who have never dealt with bureaucracy," she said.
Around a dozen local residents will begin using the two cars on a trial basis for the next several months, Senum said. Demonstrating the viability of the program could lead to government grants, Foxfoot said.
For some people, like those who need to drive for their jobs or who add 15,000 miles or more to the odometer every year, car-sharing may not be a good option, said Senum, who paints houses for a living. But enough local residents have expressed interest in car-sharing that she has confidence in the program.
"I have a pretty good feeling it's going to take off," Senum said.
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To reach staff writer Josh Singer, e-mail joshs@theunion .com or call 477-4234.
For more information
Mike Foxfoot
phone: 292-3464
mikefoxfoot@yahoo.com
Reinette Senum
phone: 470-8381
e-mail: reinettesenum @mac.com
