Sharing is Caring! All About Car Sharing Part 1: I-Go Cars
17 08 2007
This is the first blog in a series about car sharing companies, featuring I-Go!
My friend Jen and her husband Ryan have lived all over the US, from Chicago to Ann Arbor Michigan to D.C. to the east coast, all without a car. In addition to bikes and feet and public transit, they told me they use car sharing services. Wondering just how that differed from a car rental service, I thought I’d do some investigation.
Car Sharing Around the World
For a list of cities and companies where you can find Car Sharing, I’m going to guide you to the website www.carsharing.net, because this blog series will focus on car sharing in Chicago.
And on with Car Sharing…
The three major car sharing companies available in Chicago are Zipcars, I-Go, and Flexcar.
Car sharing differs from car rental services because you reserve and pay for cars by the hour, and they differ from carpool services because you have the car all to yourself for the length of your reservation.
Car sharing encourages less car usage and thus less traffic and pollution in cities. Can’t argue with that! Increased driving also funnels funding of public funds more towards highway and road construction and repair at the detriment of alternatives such as funding for public transportation.
I-Go, You Go, Let’s All Go to I-Go!
I-Go hails itself as Chicago’s only non-profit car sharing service. It was created by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, which strives to “invent and implement new strategies which make urban communities more livable and environmentally sustainable,” and they offer 100% low emission vehicles.
Once you join I-Go, it takes about 5-7 business days until you can start reserving cars, and there’s an annual membership fee of $75.
One of the rules of I-Go is that you must return the car to the location you picked it up from, but there are I-Go locations all over the city.
There are a list of added benefits to becoming an I-Go customer, such as the waiving of Flexcar fees in other cities and discounts at places like Ikea, G Boutique and the Apartment People.
I-Go Pricing
There is a one time membership fee of $75, and then each subsequent year costs $25. There are no monthly fees.
The Standard Plan costs $6 an hour, plus 50 cents per mile, or the Standard Plus plan, which costs $8.25 an hour, with 25 free miles.
The hours between midnight and 6 a.m. are always free for you night owls.
Contact Info
Website: www.igocars.org
Phone: 773-278-4446
Their Wicker Park Home Location: 2125 W North Ave
