Enterprise Rent-a-Car is zooming ahead with a car-sharing program à la the successful Zipcar. The Enterprise venture, called WeCar, started on the campus of St. Louis's Washington University last month, but will kick off in urban style in the city downtown next week. WeCar will begin with nine Toyota Prius hybrids and will target employees who commute without a car to work and then need a vehicle during the day. (Zipcar, which targets residential areas, is not available in St. Louis.) WeCar joins a U-Haul program with the self-explanatory name U Car Share, available in college cities like Ann Arbor, Mich., and Berkeley, Calif. Car rental companies Hertz and Avis are also eyeing car-sharing. Because, as we all learned in kindergarten, sharing is caring.
source: The Wall Street Journal
see also, in Grist:Rental and car-share companies get hip to hybrids

Comments
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Wolverine Posted 10:17 am
07 Feb 2008
OK, now that I've awakened from a pleasant dream, this looks like another way to get more people to drive, which is awful. Notice that the program "will target employees who commute without a car to work and then need a vehicle during the day," though this doesn't make sense. If people are not driving to work, how could they be using vehicles during the day? And who needs a car while at work?
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Tasermons Partner Posted 11:45 am
07 Feb 2008
Perhaps they take mass transit to work, but then need a car to get to a conference or business meeting dusing the day or somethin'. That's 'bout all I can figure.
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spaceshaper Posted 1:27 pm
07 Feb 2008
Realtors. Attorneys. College professors on dispersed campuses. Physicians working at multiple locations. Reporters. Social workers. Architects. Business executives. Any office worker needing to make a visit to a child's school function or meet a dental appointment without taking the whole day off.
In a few American cities with truly effective public transportation cabs, buses and subways are faster and more convenient (no hunting for parking spots at your destination). Everywhere else, a busy professional can't spend two hours on cross-town bus commute to a mid-day meeting if a car takes you there in ten minutes. So though there may be commuter transit available at the beginning/end of the work day s/he drives to work to cope with those interim trips. And as the car's sitting there why not drive to lunch as well...
Certainly, good public transportation is better than car-share. But until the general infrastructure gets up to Manhattan's standards, these services can undoubtedly help reduce congestion and emissions, especially if high-performance autos like the Prius are the vehicles of choice.
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luannrudolph Posted 12:11 am
08 Feb 2008
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racc Posted 3:07 am
08 Feb 2008
People can also choose the type of vehicle that is appropriate for the trip. If they are carrying a lot of people or transporting bulky items, they can use a van or SUV. IF they are driving by themselves, they can use a small fuel efficient car.
Sharing a car between 5 and 10 is sustainable. Everyone owning their own car is not.
We have 2 car sharing firms in Vancouver and it works well.
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bOlogOs Posted 6:29 pm
29 May 2008
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