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Cheaper U-Car Share replaces vanpool

September 17, 2010

by Zach Holz

If you’re one who walks or jogs between East Apartment and the Facilities Office occasionally, and if you’re also an astute observer, you may have noticed this year that the sizeable fleet of Suburbans that used to be stockaded in the parking lot next to Copeland have disappeared. Some of them are still around—College Outdoors now owns one of them, and the Athletic Department owns one of the others, but the college has sold off the rest of the vanpool, as of this summer.
For those unaware of this fleet, the vanpool operated by the school provided vehicles for student clubs, organizations, and academic departments to rent for day and weekend usage, at prices that had been stabilized at affordable rates. The process of securing a vehicle was fairly straightforward and granted on-campus groups the liberty to travel places that were inaccessible otherwise.
But underlying the situation were multiple internal factors at play. The College, under financial pressure, asked Facilities Services to reduce their operating budget by 5 percent for this fiscal year.  After “many, many spreadsheets,” said Transportation Supervisor and Events Planner Johnny Weigel, the College decided that the most cost-effective way to address the cut would be to replace the vanpool with rental car services, provided by Enterprise Rentals and the novel U-Car Share system.
The economics illuminate the reasoning behind the decision—simply, the vanpool was not making any money. Nor was it breaking even, as Weigel notes was the original intent when it was set up 12 years ago. In reality, the revenue for the vanpool was actually less than one-third the cost of running it.
“In a way, the vanpool has been subsidizing other departments for several years, as facilities services has been covering the majority of the costs,” said Weigel.
And when the costs of running a modest seven-vehicle vanpool exceeded $100,000 last year, it is probably an understatement of Weigel to say “the vanpool was an option to cut costs.”
So, with the vanpool now gone, Enterprise Rent-A-Car—the largest car rental company in America—has been chosen to fill the role. Enterprise’s costs are significantly higher than what the vanpool’s were, but according to a press release on The Source, the College has agreed to absorb 80 percent of the costs of the rentals for this year in an effort to make the transition less financially demanding on student groups and academic departments.
Despite Enterprise’s higher up-front costs, the per-mile cost of driving on the College’s dime is markedly less with Enterprise than with the private van fleet. Weigel notes that last year the vanpool cost $1.89 per mile driven, as opposed to the $0.88 per mile that Enterprise will cost.
Enterprise is not the only option for students now. With the new U-Car Share system brought onto campus at the end of the last academic year, students can individually rent vehicles for $4.99 per hour plus mileage, any time, any day, for any reason whatsoever. They need not even be 21 years of age, as many other rental companies stipulate—18 will do.
So far, according to reports provided by Director of Student Activities Jason Feiner, use of U-Car Share’s Honda Insight and Ford Focus on campus have been steady throughout the program’s inception in May. Many students have signed up for membership, and with the new extended deadline to register for a free membership set at November 10, he anticipates even more involvement.
“All our U-Car Share vehicles are hybrid or low emission,” said Feiner. “Any U-Car Share member can use any U-Car Share vehicle, anywhere.”
It is under this ethos that the college has decided to expand the U-Car Share program by adding two new Toyota Priuses to the fleet, scheduled to arrive on campus next month.
Feiner is presently unsure of where these vehicles will be placed, but he hopes to “place cars where they will be accessible to all users.”
Some have wondered about the possibility of securing a larger vehicle from U-Car Share to allow students to transport heavier and bulkier items. In response, Feiner notes that U-Car Share has the capability to bring larger vehicles, but says that they are not all that prevalent in the local area. However, as a rejoinder, Feiner also said, “We just have to ask for them.”
As comprehensive as the U-Car Share system seems to be—they even carry the insurance—Feiner said he has reservations about the viability of the system for larger groups and clubs.
“I struggle with the practicality aspect of it with larger groups; it just starts to add up quickly,” said Feiner. And at five dollars an hour, any sort of extended or overnight trip already seems to be out of the question.
“Where U-Car Share helps us the most is it enables us to get to those engagements off campus and in town,” said Feiner.
And perhaps that is all U-Car Share might be—an on-demand vehicle for “engagements” and other small trips that fill up our daily schedules. For those groups needing a vehicle for longer trips, and who are willing to plan far enough in advance, Enterprise is a viable option, as are the two vehicles left over from the vanpool with College Outdoors and Athletics. 
Despite the cut of the vanpool, there are still transportation options to fit most of the needs of the community. With sustained use, these options will only grow.