Car sharing to begin next year
Melissa Vlach
Issue date: 4/21/09 Section: News
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In order to participate, students must register online, after which they will receive membership cards. Each card has a smart chip in it and is what the student uses to get into the car. After scheduling the appointment online, the student simply goes to the car at the time scheduled and holds the card up to the windshield, unlocking the car. The key and fuel card will be in the glove compartment.
In order to be a part of the program, there are rates by the hour or by the day, depending on the length of time for which the car is reserved. In addition, there is a $25 yearly cost and a $20 enrollment fee. However, the enrollment fee will be waived for students who sign up before June 1 of this year and agree not to bring cars to campus for the next school year.
Julie Antonio, the sales representative at WeCar who is working with Saint Mary's, explained that at the moment the maximum amount of time for which a car can be borrowed is one day. This is so that as many students as possible have access to the cars.
Sharing the cars involves certain responsibilities for students as well. "We do ask that members of the community remember they're part of a larger community," said Antonio. This means that those who use the cars keep them clean, bring them back on time and be respectful of the rules in general. "There are a system of penalties if people are unable to do that," she said.
Antonio thinks that the program will be beneficial to the College. We're going to be able to help students save money by not having to bring a car to school and pay for the maintenance and insurance, and we're also going to be able to help the College in their need to manage their parking," she said.
Director of Community and Government Relations Tim Farley, who along with Vice President for Finance Pete Michell and Coordinator of Student Involvement and Leadership Reuben Greenwald, was instrumental in bringing the program to campus, has similar hopes.
"Next year the freshmen class is going to be living on campus and we want to have transportation available to students so that they can get around if necessary," he said.
The program also aims to be environmentally friendly. As the website, www.wecar.com, explains, "most cars in the WeCar fleet are hybrids and all are very fuel-efficient." Farley believes that it might also encourage carpooling, since those who do not drive themselves will not feel stuck on campus if something comes up and they need to leave.
Because of this environmental focus, the program membership drive will launch on Earth Day, which is tomorrow, April 22. Antonio will be at the Community Time barbecue with one of the cars, explaining how the program works.
Farley hopes that the program will be successful. He said, "It's innovative; we're hopeful that people will respond to it."