Arlington County, Va., includes carsharing in its Master Transportation Plan because it adds important connections to and from its already-rich transit infrastructure.
But for car-owning Arlington households, how does carsharing fit within their transportation needs? For one, cost can play a large role.
Marietta Gelfort, a carsharing analyst for the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services, recently took a detailed look at the question. Gelfort’s study compared the costs of different car ownership scenarios – new cars, used cars, purchased with and without loans – against the membership and use costs of the two carsharing operators in Arlington, car2go and Zipcar.
Gelfort said, “Carshare makes you more aware of the costs because you get a bill every time you use a car. With ownership, you aren’t reminded .”
So how exactly are Arlingtonians supposed to know when carsharing memberships are a better deal than car ownership?
There are many variables that affect ownership costs, including the make and model of the vehicle and how much of it has been paid off. But, for an Arlington resident, Gelfort’s research found that, on average, carsharing is a more affordable option if one generally drives 3,000 miles or less annually (equal to 58 miles per week).
At 3,000 miles annually, several carsharing rates still cost less than many ownership scenarios. Source: Arlington DES report.
Arlington residents with multiple personal vehicles might be good candidates to explore carsharing, according to Gelfort. If a second or third car is rarely used, replacing one of those cars with occasional use of a car2go or Zipcar is likely to result in substantial money savings.
As is the case in many places throughout the U.S., there are other people besides multi-car owners who could benefit from carsharing.
“Young people who are just starting to drive would be good candidates to consider carsharing over ownership. It could be a good idea to talk them out of buying cars. And that might be an easier sell before they’ve started getting used to having their own cars,” Gelfort said.
In the 1,500 annual VMT scenario, every carsharing scenario emerges as cheaper than car ownership.
Melissa McMahon, TDM planning program manager for the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services, also worked on the study and added, “There are a substantial amount of one-car households in Arlington and Washington, D.C., that have a car for grocery shopping or weekend trips. Carsharing could even be a great deal for them, especially when they might have monthly parking costs of $150 or so a month.”
It’s worth noting that parking was not considered into Gelfort’s study, as it is “such an individual thing” that is difficult to average.
With about 37 percent of Arlington households owning one car, and 55 percent owning two or more, it stands to reason that there are a number of cases in which residents might save by trading a car for a carsharing membership.
Photo: A Zipcar parked in Rosslyn, Arlington (Sam Kittner for Mobility Lab, www.kittner.com).