UHaul enters the car-sharing system with U Car Share
Car sharing services like Zipcar and FlexCar have some new competition. U-Haul, best know for renting movers clunky but practical vans and trailers, has started a car sharing service. Like the others, U Car Share allows you to rent a car just as long as you need one. U Car Share's rates are a $25 application fee, a $50 annual membership fee and then $10 per hour or $65 a day. The fees include 125 miles per day, with more miles charged at 40 cents a mile. There is also an overnight rate.
One extra feature of U Car Share is that U-Haul has partnered with The Conservation Fund's Go Zero program to plant trees to help cancel out a trip's emissions. That's fine, but I think that U-Haul has made it slightly less user-friendly to use their cars. Unlike services where you don't interact with anyone to get your car (it's all online and you have a device that opens the car to get the key), U Car Share relies on U Haul offices to conduct the transactions. The company website says, "simply stop by your office location and get the keys to your car. Your trip will be insured and your car complete with a gas card in the glove box" (emphasis added). I'm sure it will be simple for some people, but the anytime ease of an automated system will appeal to many, I'm sure.
The U Car Share service is available in ten cities, including Ann Arbor, Portland, Washington D.C. and Seattle. (See the full list here) and U-Haul is promising "More Locations Coming Soon!" Stay tuned.
[Source: U-Haul, h/t to Matthew]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
another Bill 2:26PM (7/24/2007)
Doesn't sound good. The worst part about Uhaul is interacting with Uhaul agents/offices. Inevitably, you "reserve" a pickup truck, show up to get it and they only mysteriously only have 15ft box vans, and they won't rent it to you for the pickup truck rate that you "reserved".
Zipcar, Flexcar, and other car sharing services work well because their fleets are dispersed and parked in urban areas on the street or in private lots, and usually near transit. Uhaul offices are generally not in urban areas. What's the point of renting a car from a place where you have to have a car to get there? Plus, since they're charging by the hour, you're paying more (in $$'s, and your personal time) to pick up and return the car. Might as well just rent from Enterprise, or get a car at the airport. Dumb.
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Don 4:52PM (7/24/2007)
Uhaul offices and pickup centers are always run down and staffed by the lowest common denominator.
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Smith 8:18PM (7/24/2007)
Believe it.
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Mungkee 10:36PM (7/24/2007)
In Philadelphia, there is a better service called Philly Car Share. They are the non-profit that caused these others to start up in the US.
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Elizabeth 12:15PM (9/25/2007)
I work for Cox Enterprises and saw that you have an interest in the environment. I thought you might be interested in visiting www.CoxConserves.com. The site details Cox’s commitment to the environment and offers tips on how anyone can become eco-friendly.
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