Austin CarShare at Mueller?

Green living at Mueller Austin: Brandi Clark came to the Mueller Neighborhood Association meeting last Saturday to discuss Austin CarShare.

Austin CarShare is a non-profit car sharing organization which allows members to reduce their dependency on car ownership by providing access to shared cars for small journeys.

The premis is simple. A car (or truck) is available for reservation by members and is parked in a convenient community location. Members hold an electronic key which allows them access to the vehicle during their time slot, and they are billed for time and mileage. All other insurance, maintenance, and cleaning of the car are taken care of - you just turn up and drive.

The organization is 2 years old in Austin, and has a fleet of 7 vehicles currently in key locations in Austin - Hyde Park, UT and Downtown. Brandi came to the Mueller Development to gauge residents’ interest and it was clear that people supported the idea of having a set of cars for our neighborhood.

A single car supports 30-40 members, and takes around 12 cars off the road. The discipline of having to schedule automobile usage also creates a change in behaviour. For a walkable neighborhood like Mueller, in which amenities and facilities are planned in the Town Center and Market District, there could be less dependence on cars.

City CarShare in San Francisco and PhillyCarShare have hundreds of locations, and it would be nice to think of Mueller Austin with less car ownership, more public transport usage and car sharing and a new model of living.

Membership is as low as $10 per month and cars are available from $5 an hour and $0.55/ mile with gas included. It would be entirely feasible to book a car for an hour to ferry groceries back from the coming grocery store each week, and walk to pick up the car.

Garreth Wilcock is an Austin EcoBroker® with Keller Williams Realty.

Specializing in: Green Austin Real Estate and New Green Homes in Austin.

(512) 694 8873