Evergreen businessman Russ Straub’s car-sharing program is aimed at saving users the expense of owning a car they use only once in a while.
Straub’s Occasional Car launched a month ago in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood with two Honda Civic Hybrids. So far, he has about 60 members who reserve a car on the Internet or over the phone.
He said he hopes to recruit 1,000 new members and add up to 50 more cars in other neighborhoods in the next 18 months.
The program is modeled after Zipcar, a car-sharing service operating in more than 50 cities in North America and the United Kingdom. Zipcar made an unsuccessful stab at the Denver market in 2007 in Stapleton. Undaunted, Straub still sees demand.
With the average car costing more than $500 a month to own and operate, car sharing can help its customers save money, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). U.S. households spend nearly 20 percent of their income on transportation — second only to the cost of housing.
But with car sharing, expenses such as insurance, license, registration, taxes and finance charges are shared among a larger group of users. Members pay only for the time and distance they drive, and their membership fee even includes the gas.
Straub and his partners started marketing the concept online in November. His partners include Matthew Peterson, Mark Barlow and Scott Wiesenmeyer. They’re also partners in Straub’s other business, LoanBright, which matches mortgage shoppers with mortgage companies.
The partners were encouraged after more than 1,300 users preregistered.
Capitol Hill was their first choice when surveys showed it had a great demand for the program. Next highest was Lower Downtown, and Straub plans to locate an Occasional Car there in May. The next three areas with high demand: Highland, Cherry Creek and Washington Park.
Based on the surveys, Occasional Car found people are interested in the concept as a way to save money and help improve the environment. The average age of those interested was 35, and the top vehicle pick was the Toyota Prius.
“We’re hoping to get that as our next vehicle,” Straub said. “We’re definitely committed to a fleet of mostly small, fuel-efficient vehicles.”
It’s a change from when Zipcar tried the Denver market.
“There just wasn’t the density you would find in a traditional urban core,” said John Williams, a spokesman for Zipcar.
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
