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Downtown Austin Car Share – Smart Car Pilot Program

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How do you increase parking? Shrink the cars, of course!
How do you increase parking? Shrink the cars, of course!

Daimler will partner with the City of Austin to operate a car-share pilot program, Mayor Will Wynn announced yesterday morning.

From the Statesman:

“The city will set aside urban-core parking spaces for 200 of Daimler’s “Smart” cars. Rather than paying for the spaces, Daimler will let city employees use the cars for a number of hours that’s equal to the monetary value of the spaces. (That amount hasn’t been determined yet; it will be negotiated over the next few weeks, city officials said.)…The program will start in October and run for six months. Daimler will pay for fuel, maintenance and insurance during that time, said the city’s transportation director, Robert Spillar.”

The car share program is a proven model in many cities, and the Smart Car program specifically is already smashing success in Germany.  Austin mayoral city council candidate Chris Riley is responsible for Austin Car Share – a small but well utilized car share program in Downtown Austin.

Thanks to Austin Contrarian for picking up on this story.

Austin CarShare R.I.P.

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We first learned from Elliott McFadden at Austin On Two Wheels, then earlier today Thomas Butler (DAA staff and Austin CarShare board chair) confirmed for us that Austin CarShare has ceased all operations.

Much like the Dillo, we wanted to be a cheerleader for this alternative form of transportation.  It didn’t work perfectly, but it did work well for many things.  We wanted to see it succeed because we knew the people behind it, and how inspired and passionate they are about the underlying concept.

Austin CarShare created the market for this form of transportation in Central Texas, and it’s regrettable to see them close up shop.  Not to denigrate the achievements of car2go, but it lacks the bootstrapping ethos evident in Austin CarShare.  Truth is car2go works better for most users.

Car2go’s presence in more places and the ability to park it [almost] anywhere makes it more accessible to more people.  And that’s a good thing for consumers/commuters.  Car2go simply has the financial backing to achieve a critical mass of cars and users.

Were it not for the entrepreneurial vision of these guys/gals four years ago, inspired to create Austin CarShare, car2go would not likely have chosen Austin to beta test what is to become the largest car sharing program in the world.

Brandi Clark with Austin Eco Network puts it more eloquently.

-Jude

B-Cycle Chosen For Austin Bike Share Program

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The Downtown Austin Blog has confirmed that B-cycle is the bike company of choice for the new Austin Bike Share program.

DAB reported last week that three companies had submitted proposals to supply Austin Bike Share equipment. We don’t know who yet else applied, but there is some small comfort in knowing that the people in San Antonio seem quite pleased with B-cycle, where they are growing from 30 stations to 45 stations. (Check out their San Antonio rates and coverage here.) B-cycle implementation has been successful in 15 other major cities, including Denver, San Antonio, and Houston and the city aims to have the bike share program operable by late spring 2013.

Here’s Here are some more details on what to expect in Austin:

[Read more…] about B-Cycle Chosen For Austin Bike Share Program

Austin Bike Share Doesn’t Exist. It Should!

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posing in front of the hotel to make sure the delegation knew about the bike system, and then encourage them to try it

[Thanks to Charley Ayres with the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce for the above pic!]

Just got back from Minneapolis as part of a delegation from the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s annual InterCity visit.  One of the most impressive city amenities in Minneapolis is a robust and professionally operated bike share system.  The system is called Nice Bike and you’ll find stations scattered throughout the urban core, located around destinations people need/want to get to.

It was around this time last year, when traveling in Montreal, that I was first introduced to a fully functional bike share system.  That system was called BIXI, but it was the same bike design used in Minneapolis.  The system works insanely well.  You can become a member, or pay-as-you-go.  The three-geared bikes are comfortable and well maintained.

The most important element of these systems a critical mass of stations.  A successful shared bike system is analogous to a network that increases its utility as more nodes are added.  Place the stations in places where people need them.  The more stations the better.

A shared bike system could help solve some “last mile” challenges facing mass-transit.  The productivity of a shared bike system for residents, workers, visitors is potentially leaps and bounds more cost effective than buses for last mile transit.  As such, I believe a shared bike system should be injected into Austin’s mobility planning.

Just as importantly, a shared bike system is a superb recreational amenity for the city.  Imagine how useful this could be for visitors to Austin!  Don’t rent a car.  Rent a bike!  Make it leisurely.

It was fortunate for supporters of this system that so many decision makers were on this trip.  CM Riley, CM Cole, CM Morrison, and Mayor Leffingwell were all in attendance in Minneapolis, and hopefully returned more informed about the potential of a bike share system in Austin.  Below is a map I quickly created that shows general destinations where anyone could pickup or drop off their shared bike.

Car2Go Spotted In The Wild

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This morning while walking to the office I spotted three Car2Go Smart cars parked at 5th & West Ave.  The last sighting was back in May.  Below are some pics…

austin car2go car share
austin car2go car share

car2go in downtown Austin
car2go in downtown Austin