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 Spring
2004The Borrowers For most Washingtonians, a car is more than a way to get from point A to point B; it’s a status symbol. But for an increasing not so few, carsharing, a relatively new trend in public transit, is replacing the need for owning your own vehicle. Not wanting to miss the trendy boat (or car, in this case), I decided to research and try the service for myself. But I wondered, is sharing always as good as having your own things? It turns out that carsharing began in Europe in the late 80s, mostly in dense city areas, making it a perfect option for the Washington region, where it arrived in 2001. In D.C. and the surrounding suburbs, there are 2 companies from which to choose, Flexcar and Zipcar, both of which offer easy booking options, various fun cars, and convenient locations. Similar to renting a car, carsharing differs in that you can “borrow” a car for as little as an hour with very few obligations beyond bringing it back clean and in one piece, incurring only small fees. Over brunch one Sunday morning, I discussed with friends the merits of sharing a vehicle and tried to ascertain the general public climate regarding this trendy option. Alison, my carless friend, was constantly lamenting the need for her own wheels for trips to the suburbs and to navigate places like the grocery store. Surprisingly, she was unaware of the carsharing option. Stacey, who changes cars as frequently as most of us change our Manolo Blahniks because she just couldn’t commit, pricked her ears up at the chance to use a car that she could return after a matter of hours! Our resident voice of reason, Erika, had never heard of carsharing and was especially skeptical. Later that week, I had the girls clear their busy calendars, signed us all up for memberships, and booked a car online through one of the two services, and we packed in for what would become an eye-opening trip. We had received membership cards in the mail as well as instructions for using the car, and after locating the car closest to Dupont Circle, in we climbed. The key was already in the vehicle (special security measures were in place so it couldn’t be stolen or vandalized), so we fired her up in a flash! Could carsharing be as easy as this, or were we in for the ride of our lives? I got my answer quickly when a grumbling, Erika, sitting in the back seat, bemoaned having to sit in a car where she didn’t know how many others had already sat. I reminded her about how often she took cabs, in which thousands sit weekly, and that our carsharing vehicle was infinitely cleaner and better smelling than any taxi I’d ever taken. Stacey, who refused to drive domestic, loved the choice of vehicle but hated the color, while Alison, our designated driver, was just excited to be behind the wheel. I was riding shotgun, taking notes and hoping for the best but knowing my friends, expecting the worst. We had chosen the Pentagon City Mall in Arlington for our jaunt, taking advantage of actually having trunk space to pick up as many pairs of Jimmy Choos and Manolos as we could carry. Over the bridge and through the parking lot to shopping heaven we traveled. Erika perked up when she realized how quickly we had gotten there and that it meant that she could buy four or five pairs of shoes instead of just one or two, and had already forgotten that the car wasn’t hers. Stacey had reached a state of euphoria when she realized we’d be bypassing the crowded rush-hour Metro and had even admitted to liking the car’s greenish color, and Alison was still just happy to be behind the wheel. On the return trip, as we all basked in the glee of the seventeen pairs of shoes we had purchased between us, I reflected on our experience. Maybe carsharing, like shoe shopping, is about trying cars on for size, discarding them in favor of new ones until you find one that fits just right. Or maybe it was just about going along for the ride. |
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