Originally published February 20, 2012 at 5:31 p.m., updated February 20, 2012 at 5:31 p.m.
Joey Reames does not have a car in Lawrence. He left the vehicle he shared with his siblings in Dallas so that his brother could get to work everyday. While not having a car in Lawrence has not prevented him from getting around campus, it does make getting around town a challenge.
“As far as going to see my friends who live off campus or getting to Mass Street, I always have to ask my friends for rides,” said Reames, a sophomore from Dallas. “I feel bad. They’re always spending gas money on me.”
The Parking and Transit Department now offers a solution for students without cars like Reames. Last month, it introduced a car sharing program that allows cars to be rented for a minimum of 15 minutes or as long as a day.
Students had been requesting the program for years, said Margretta de Vries, administrative specialist for the department.
A rental car sits in the designated parking spot for Hertz rentals on campus.
Interested drivers register for the Hertz on demand program on the company’s website and must provide credit card information for future rental use, although registering is free. Hertz then mails out a membership card that drivers use to unlock the car. The whole process takes about 7 to 10 days, and anybody over the age of 18 with a valid driver’s license can use the cars.
Two cars are parked in marked spaces in lot 16 across from the Kansas Union and two are in lot 102, located between Hashinger and Lewis Hall. The rental fee is $8 per hour, which includes gas and insurance. All cars have 24-hour customer service and built in GPS. The keys are inside the car, but it will only start after you confirm your identity with the cars Bluetooth system. Vehicles must be returned to their designated spaces when drivers are done.
De Vries said the car sharing program would be helpful to students, staff and faculty who struggle to arrange rides for appointments or errands and might come as a relief for prospective students as well.
“There are a lot of students who come from far away and only bring a car because they don’t think they’ll be able to get to anything,” said de Vries.
Since the program started, 126 people have signed up for membership. In February, the cars have been driven for 129 hours. The department goal is for the cars to be driven around 200 hours per month, de Vries said.
Javon Shackelford, a junior from Salina, was interested to hear that the program would be coming to the University right around the time he would need to start applying for internships.
“I use it to go to interviews in Kansas City, which has been really helpful,” Shackelford said.
He tries to use the cars strategically, renting them on weekdays when the prices are lower than the standard $8 per hour. Schakelford also evaluates whether or not he really needs the car to go somewhere or if driving would simply be easier than walking since the rental fees can add up quickly.
“If you’re not careful, you can definitely drive yourself into the poor house,” Schakelford said.
— Edited by Bre Roach
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