The Utah Transit Authority, University of Utah and Salt Lake City are teaming up to attract the kind of short-term rental program that has revolutionized driving in cities coast to coast. Motorists can join for a yearly fee and then reserve cars online when they need one, untethering themselves from car payments, insurance, even gasoline prices.
Krista Bowers cannot wait. She gave up her car when it died four years ago and finds that, with cold-weather gear and an occasional bus pass, she can get just about everywhere she needs to from her Avenues home. Still, there are times she needs a ride to parts of the valley that are less bike-friendly or when she would like to haul something in a pickup.
"There's only so much you can put in a bike trailer," she said.
Car-sharing businesses such as Zipcar have thrived in denser metro areas such as Chicago and Philadelphia, transit-saturated cities where many residents find it more convenient to live without a car. Zipcar also operates in midsize cities, including Albuquerque, N.M., where the rate is $9 an hour or $66 for a day, plus a $50 annual membership. Insurance and gas are covered.
Now Utah officials are hoping to prove it can work here, too, by entering into a contract in which they would provide parking spots downtown, at the U. and around UTA stations such as the transit hub, where commuter rail meets light rail and buses.
UTA will accept proposals from rental companies and hopes to have one operating in Salt Lake City within six months, Assistant General Manager Mike Allegra said at last week's UTA board meeting.
That was welcome news to one board member, Robert Hunter, who said he sometimes skips riding FrontRunner trains from Ogden because the connections in Salt Lake City won't get him quickly where he's going.
"This is an answer for someone like me," Hunter said. "If this is in place, I could probably ride the train every time."
U. student Weston Edwards bikes to school every day and finds it easy enough getting around downtown and borrowing his parents' car for longer trips. Car sharing sounds like a good option for those who don't live near downtown, he said, especially if they ride commuter rail. "For people who ride FrontÂRunner it would make sense to have a vehicle waiting for them in Salt Lake."
Pittsburgh is one city where public entities attracted a private car-sharing business by setting aside parking spaces for members. Pittsburgh City Council member Bill Peduto tried it out during a monthlong challenge last summer, and it changed his life.
For starters, he had to hoof it more. There wasn't a car-pickup spot near his home. "It was a 10-minute walk, and you know what? It was good."
Counting on a shared car - and walking, biking or busing to it - meant more attention to scheduling.
"You have to plan out everything - how you're going to get there," Peduto said. "But there wasn't an appointment I missed or was late for."
He hasn't used it since August, but was inspired to start biking more. "I'd use it in a pinch," he said. And he believes the program will supplant many people's cars in the future as gas prices increase.
"You can live carless," Peduto said.
Pittsburgh's downtown business district contracted with the company to provide the service. Now the city is entering into a contract to put city workers in car-share rides instead of fleet vehicles - something Philadelphia already has embraced.
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker hasn't proposed such a fleet-reducing move here but said it is a possibility if private car-sharing succeeds. "I want to keep an open mind," he said, "to any of a range of possibilities."
The first step is making it convenient for people who don't want a car, or families who want just one. "We're looking for locations throughout our community and throughout downtown," Becker said. "We're taking a first step."
