The Prague Post Online: News: Prague looks to car sharing to reduce traffic

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Prague looks to car sharing to reduce traffic

Supporters say that shared wheels make for a smart ride

By Hilda Hoy
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
February 14th, 2007 issue

Faced with worsening air pollution and serious traffic congestion, Prague is looking to set up a car-sharing program similar to those found in many European countries.

Car sharing, an innovative program in which multiple users share a fleet of cars, has been practiced on a formal, organized scale around Europe — mainly in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands — since the late 1980s and early 1990s. Today, you can find programs throughout Western Europe, Scandinavia, Canada and the United States. Operators and users laud the services as efficient, environmentally friendly and affordable.

On Feb. 9, representatives from three car-sharing operations in Germany — in Berlin, Bremen and Kiel — were at Prague’s Old Town Hall in order to share their experiences.

“People here don’t know about it,” said Michaela Valentová, a spokeswoman for Prague’s Institute for Environmental Policy (ÚEP), the organizers of the press conference and discussion seminar. “The most important thing is to explain its advantages.”

There would be myriad benefits in it for the city, she said. First, it decreases the number of car owners, which reduces the environmental harm that cars can cause. Second, fewer motorists on the road means less need for parking, freeing up public space for more people-friendly purposes.

And finally, what can be the deal breaker for many car sharers: price.

In Germany, it costs, on average, between 350 euros ($560/12,135 Kč) and 400 euros per month to own a car, Birger Holm, general manager of the Greenwheels car-sharing company in Hamburg, told the audience at Old Town Hall. Meanwhile, the average Greenwheels user spends just 30 to 40 euros per month.

Ideally, car sharing supplements multiple other modes of trans-portation: walking, biking, public transit and even car rentals, for users that need a vehicle for longer periods of time, he said.

Car sharing is specifically designed for short-term use: Greenwheels, which operates across Germany and the Netherlands, restricts use to a maximum of two days, and users can sign out a vehicle for as little as one hour.

After paying a deposit and registering their drivers’ licenses, users can locate and book cars, often online, head to the nearest vehicle lot and start driving. Usually, they pay an hourly rate, which includes gas and insurance, plus a mileage supplement. With Greenwheels, a high-tech tracking device in each car calculates mileage, and the cost of each drive is automatically deducted from the user’s bank account.

Urban sprawl
Car sharing has at least one strong supporter at City Hall: Petr Štěpánek, the city councilor in charge of environmental issues, who was on hand at the Feb. 9 discussion to lend his support to the initiative.

“One of the main problems in Prague is transport. Thanks to car usage, the city is spreading in a different way than it used to,” he said. “I believe that we can learn a lot from the German experience [with car sharing].”

This option is ideal for individuals who occasionally need a car, but can usually get by with other modes of transportation. In other words, those who drive less than 15,000 kilometers (9,321 miles) per year, Valentová said.

According to a 2006 study by Prague’s Transport Research Center, that would be the majority of Czechs. The average car in this country drives 14,500 kilometers per year, the report concluded.

The study also found that car ownership here has been rising quickly. Last year, there were approximately 39 cars per 100 people. By the year 2020, that number will rise to 50, the center forecasted.

Whether car sharing will succeed in Prague, however, depends largely on local enthusiasm.

In cities such as Berlin, car sharing has received the support of the local government, said Holm. Though the city didn’t provide financial aid, it gave Greenwheels the exclusive use of 21 public lots to use for parking.

Given its size, Prague should ideally have about 40 car-sharing lots, he said. “But that won’t be possible without the support of the local administration.”

Valentová is hopeful that support will come.

“I can imagine that the city could support a car-sharing initiative with some parking spots, for example,” she said. “I wouldn’t expect financial support, but I imagine there could be some grants from the Transportation Ministry, for example.” Applying for European Union funding is another option ÚEP is considering.

It’s too early to say for sure whether City Hall will step in, Štěpánek said.

“It’s all still in the idea stage right now,” Štěpánek said, but added, “I can see the city creating advantages for car sharing.”

But car sharing may not be too far off for Prague residents, he said. “Because it’s … already working effectively in our neighboring countries, my feeling is that within two years we can have car sharing here in Prague.”

Hela Balínová contributed to this report.

Hilda Hoy can be reached at hhoy@praguepost.com

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