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PhillyCarShare was a non-profit
car-sharing Carsharing or car sharing (AU, NZ, CA, TH, & US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. It differs from traditional car rental in that the owners of the cars are often pri ...
organization in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
established in 2002. The service was acquired by Enterprise in 2011, and was renamed Enterprise CarShare in 2014. PhillyCarShare has cars available for use 24 hours per day throughout the city of Philadelphia and the region. The goals of the company are to reduce the number of cars on the road, promote the use of gas-saving automobiles, reduce pollution, promote a car-free lifestyle and save its members money. In 2007, PCS estimated that it had removed the need for more than 15,000 cars in Philadelphia, saved one million gallons of gas though the use of hybrids and reduced driving; saved each of its members $4,000 and reduced pollution by eliminating 16 million driven miles.


Community impact

Its partnership vehicle-sharing program with the City of Philadelphia was named one of 18 national finalists for the ''Innovations in American Government Awards'', which are overseen by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
's
John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
. This program allowed city workers to utilize car-sharing vehicles, and allowed the city to reduce its fleet of underutilized city-owned vehicles by 330 cars. The fleet reduction is estimated to have saved the City of Philadelphia $8 million. The City of
Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
joined PhillyCarShare in 2007. With the partnership between the City of Philadelphia and PhillyCarShare, the City became the first "government worldwide to share cars with local residents in a major fleet reduction effort." In October 2007, PhillyCarShare announced that its membership had reached 30,000. At the time of acquisition by Enterprise in 2011, it was reported that there was a membership of 13,000.


Fleet

The PhillyCarShare fleet includes over two dozen makes and models. Nearly half the fleet is made up of hybrid vehicles, including the
Toyota Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a Hybrid vehicle drivetrain, hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door Sedan (automobile), sedan, it has been produced only as ...
,
Honda Civic Hybrid The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Honda Acc ...
, and
Camry Hybrid The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...
. Other cars include the
Toyota Tacoma The Toyota Tacoma is a pickup truck manufactured by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota since 1995. The first-generation Tacoma (model years 1995 through 2004) was classified as a compact pickup. The second generation (model years 2005 t ...
,
Honda Element The Honda Element is a compact crossover SUV manufactured by Honda and marketed in North America over a single generation for model years 2003–2011 — and noted for its boxy exterior styling with bi-parting side doors and its boxy, flexib ...
,
Mazda3 The Mazda3 (known as the Mazda Axela in Japan (first three generations), a combination of "accelerate" and "excellent") is a compact car manufactured by Mazda. It was first introduced in 2003 as a 2004 model, replacing the Mazda Familia, Familia ...
,
Audi A4 The Audi A4 is a line of compact executive cars produced since 1994 by the German car manufacturer Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. The A4 has been built in five generations and is based on the Volkswagen Group B platform. The first ...
,
Volvo S40 The Volvo S40 is a series of compact and subcompact executive automobiles marketed and produced by the Swedish manufacturer Volvo Cars from 1995 to 2012. The first generation (1995–2004) was introduced in 1995 with the S40 (S from saloon) ...
,
Ford Focus The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company since 1998. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worldwide. The ...
,
Toyota Matrix The Toyota Matrix, officially referred to as the Toyota Corolla Matrix, is a compact hatchback manufactured by Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada in Cambridge, Ontario and derived from the Corolla. Introduced in 2002 as a 2003 model, the Matrix w ...
,
Dodge Caravan The Dodge Caravan (and the long-wheelbase Dodge Grand Caravan) is a series of minivans that was manufactured by Chrysler from the 1984 to 2020 model years. The Dodge version of the Chrysler minivans, the Caravan was marketed as both a passenger v ...
,
Honda Fit The Honda Fit (Japanese: ホンダ・フィット, Hepburn: ''Honda Fitto'') or Honda Jazz is a small car manufactured and marketed by Honda since 2001 and now in its fourth generation. It has a five-door hatchback body style and is considered ...
,
Scion xA The Scion xA is a five-door subcompact hatchback marketed in the US from 2004-2006 — as an export model of the Japanese domestic market Toyota Ist. Based on the first generation Toyota Vitz hatchback, the xA shared a platform with the Toy ...
,
Scion xB The Scion xB is a compact car ( subcompact car in its first generation) made by Scion, a now-defunct fully owned division of Toyota, for the United States market. It is a box-shaped, 5-door hatchback. First generation (XP30; 2003) The first- ...
,
Scion xD The Scion xD (also known as the Toyota Ist in Japan, and, as the Toyota Urban Cruiser in Europe and Latin America) is a subcompact hatchback that is marketed in the U.S. and Canada by Japanese manufacturer Toyota beginning with the 2008 model ye ...
,
Subaru Impreza The is a compact car that has been manufactured by the Japanese automaker Subaru since 1992. It was introduced as a replacement for the Leone, with the predecessor's EA series engines replaced by the new EJ series. It is now in its sixth gen ...
,
Toyota Yaris The is a supermini/ subcompact car sold by Toyota since 1999, replacing the Starlet and Tercel. Up to 2019, Toyota had used the Yaris nameplate on export versions of various Japanese-market models, with some markets receiving the same vehicl ...
,
Acura TL The Acura TL is an executive car that was manufactured by Acura, the luxury division of Honda. It was introduced in 1995 to replace the Acura Vigor and was badged for the Japanese-market from 1996 to 2000 as the Honda Inspire and from 1996 to 200 ...
,
Mini Hatch The Mini Hatch, stylised as MINI Hatch (or MINI Hardtop in the U.S.), also sold as Mini Cooper, Mini One, or simply called the (BMW) Mini, are a family of retro-styled two-door supermini hatchback and convertible; and (from 2014) a longer, su ...
,
Toyota Corolla The is a series of compact cars (formerly subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has been one of the best-selling cars in ...
and
Toyota Sienna The Toyota Sienna is a minivan manufactured and marketed by Toyota primarily for the North American and select East Asian markets. It is named for the Italian city of Siena, in the region of Tuscany. It replaced the first generation Previa van ...
. In July 2008, PhillyCarShare told its members that Toyota has cancelled most of their 2008 hybrid order due to high demand for hybrids from the retail segment, causing a temporary reduction in the number of hybrids in their fleet.


Marketing

PhillyCarShare introduced their ''Key to the City'' program in 2007 bringing discounts to Philadelphia area retailers. All members have a keytag which they can show at participating retailers to enjoy exclusive discounts. Discounts include local eateries, shops and cultural institutions. In 2006, PhillyCarShare began issuing a "music to drive by" CD entitled ''"Philly Sound Clash."'' Copies of the CD are placed in all of the vehicles, and members are encouraged to take home as many copies as they desire. The CD features local Philadelphia artists in a battle of the bands type contest, 2007's winner was
Philadelphia Slick Philadelphia Slick is a live hip hop band, fronted by rapper Noesis, formed in 2005. El Smooth and Noesis handle production for the band, which also includes saxophonist Matt Schwartz, bassist Mike Polinsky, and Ishmael Quintero. In 2007 Philad ...
.


References


External links

* {{Vehicle rental brands Carsharing Transportation in Philadelphia Defunct companies based in Pennsylvania Non-profit organizations based in Pennsylvania Organizations established in 2002 Organizations disestablished in 2014 Transport companies established in 2002 Transport companies disestablished in 2014 Defunct non-profit organizations based in the United States Enterprise Holdings