How does car sharing work?The thought process behind car share services is simple: using a car can be extremely convenient, but owning a car is often not convenient. As a member of a car share organization, you can use a car when you need one—for a full day or just a half hour—without having to worry about bills or repairs. Car sharing isn’t the same as renting a car, which is typically seen as a onetime event. Car sharing is meant to be used frequently, so the process is more streamlined. For example, to use Zipcar, you simply sign up for a membership card, reserve any nearby car online or through their app, unlock the car with your card, and use it for as long as you’ve reserved it.
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Car share benefitsIn addition to being practical and cost-effective for many people in urban areas, car sharing is also good for the environment. One study found that when people switched from using personal vehicles to using car share services, each household produced fewer metric tons of greenhouse gases per year. When looking at observed impact (defined as the actual change in emissions), there was an average 0.58 metric ton per year decrease. When looking at full impact (defined as the observed impact plus another component for emissions that were avoided), there was an average 0.84 metric ton per year decrease. Another study suggested that car sharing also requires more planning before using a car, so people are more likely to think about ways to minimize car use, and it encourages people to choose alternate forms of transportation first.
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