Students in need of a car to run errands have a new option.
U Car Share is a new program coming to the U that will eliminate the need to bring a car to campus, said Mike Coleman, U Car Share project manager.
“Instead of bringing your car to campus, there is one already waiting for you,” he said.
A division of U-Haul, U Car Share provides customers with the option to rent a car at a flat hourly rate. Alma Allred, director of Commuter Services, said this project has been a few years in the making.
“UTA, the city of Salt Lake and the university entered into a joint venture, advertised for bids and U-Haul won,” Allred said.
The cars have been ordered and will be available to students and faculty in four to six weeks. Allred said the U plans on starting with four cars and, depending on the popularity of the program, will decide whether to order more. A car will be available at the Heritage Center, Rice-Eccles Stadium, the top of Presidents’ Circle and in the parking structure across from the Annex, Allred said.
The program has been in operation since summer 2007 in a handful of cities across the country and expanded to Salt
Lake City last week. Coleman said U-Haul saw a need for a car-sharing program after they noticed people without their own vehicles using U-Haul for grocery shopping and other errands.
A one-time membership fee of $25 provides customers with a membership card enabled with a Smart Chip that unlocks a pre-reserved vehicle. Members can go online 24 hours a day and reserve a vehicle of their choice at any U Car Share location.
Gas and insurance are included in a flat rate and customers only pay for the miles they drive.
Members who drive less than seven miles in an hour will be charged a flat rate of $4.95 per hour, plus $0.59 per mile. Rates for driving more than seven miles depend on the vehicle, Coleman said, but would be somewhere between $8.00 and $12.00 an hour.
Eddie Bratke, a junior in business finance, said he would definitely take advantage of a car-sharing program on campus.
“It would be really convenient because I’m always going back and forth from school to work,” he said. He said he likes the environmentally friendly aspect of a car-sharing program. Bratke commutes to campus but said a car sharing program would alleviate the frustration of parking on campus8212;a headache for students since school began.
U Car Share locations in Salt Lake City are situated along the TRAX line at Ogden, Salt Lake Central Station, Ballpark, Meadowbrook, Millcreek, Murray Central and Sandy Civic Center at park and ride locations.
