There occasionally comes a time when you just can't be without a car even if it's just for a few hours, no matter what their environmental and economic cost. Now you can get groceries, run a few errands and have a night on the town with an alternative form of transportation. There is no need to spend hundreds of dollars on maintenance, parking, registration and insurance, as well as the up-front expense of having to buy the car itself.
Car-sharing programs whose members pay for accs to a fleet of vehicles have grown in popularity due to the rising cost of gas, insurance and parking expenses. Environmentalists praise car-sharing as being more eco-friendly.
Car-rental giant Hertz is one company offering a pay-as-you-go alternative to owning or renting a vehicle. Members of the car sharing company can rent cars on a short-term basis by the hour or by the day.
Connect By Hertz is their car-sharing division which operates in the U.S., Canada, Paris and London.
Depending on how much they drive, members can choose between three rate plans: a basic plan for those who drive occasionally to the high-end plan for more frequent drivers. There is an annual fee with an application fee and an hourly rate which varies depending on the plan you choose.
Which ever plan you choose includes gas, insurance, global positioning , roadside assistance, call centre support with a limit of 175 miles or 290 kilometres a day.
Of course, the most often asked question is how do people get access into the car? Will they have to get to an out of the way office to pick up the keys? No such inconvenience is required. Members are issued a smart card that unlocks the vehicle at a time and central location they select online. The car is then operated by pushing a button.
Just hop into your economical hybrid Toyota Prius or roomier Ford Escape and away you go.
