Zero fare transit plus carshare helps Denverites go car free

DENVER – During RTD’s Zero Fare August, members of a local carshare program gathered at the Alameda RTD light-rail station in Denver to highlight how carshare and transit options work together to allow them to avoid owning a car, saving them money and reducing pollution. According to new survey data from Colorado CarShare, 20% of their members reported driving a private car less, 38% reported not driving a private car and 13% rode transit more.

Survey results from Colorado CarShare members on the impact of carshare on their travel choices – 8.26.22Photo by Colorado CarShare | Public Domain

“On beautiful weekends like the one we’re about to have, my partner and I take transit to carshare in order to get up to the mountains,” said Nicholas Garza, Denver resident. “We haven’t had to have a car since we sold our car this winter. I find the combination of transit and carshare gives us the mobility options we need to do everything from heading to a hiking trail to doing a big grocery run. Ultimately, not having a car saves us money and reduces the number of trips I take in a gas-powered vehicle, so this also reduces our vehicle miles traveled and our air pollution footprint.”

“Buses, trains, and carshare can work hand in hand to eliminate the need to own a car and we’re seeing that play out in Denver,” said Danny Katz, CoPIRG executive director. “We don’t need more cars in Denver so anything we can do to ensure people can get around their neighborhood and up into the mountains without owning one reduces pressure on our streets, saves them money and helps clean up our air.”

According to Colorado CarShare, one round trip car share vehicle takes an estimated 9-13 vehicles off the road, while supporting upwards of 60+ families, individuals and businesses. It also saves carshare members thousands of dollars per year.

“At Colorado CarShare, we’ve been empowering Coloradans to live car-free and have a positive impact on our health, wealth, and the environment for over 23 years now,” said Bobbi Solis, member support and operations assistant at Colorado CarShare. “This includes providing shared mobility options as an alternative to Single Occupancy Vehicle ownership/use, and providing car sharing as a compliment to the likes of public transit, micro-mobility, walking and biking. We’re really excited about how much of a difference this initiative can make, so thank you for being here, and for helping us make Colorado a “cooler,” healthier, and more socially equitable place to live.”

Recently, Colorado CarShare launched their first electric vehicle car share program in affordable housing communities in the Mariposa neighborhood with support from the City and County of Denver and Denver Housing Authority. They are planning to expand to a half dozen Denver neighborhoods with additional support from CDOT’s TDM Grant Program for education, outreach and expanded service. This includes areas beyond Denver’s core like into Boulder County and other smaller communities in CO.

More information about Colorado CarShare can be found at https://carshare.org/