PhillyCarShare Closes Ardmore Pod; Punches Membership in the Face

[giza]

Yes, I know. I used to be such a big fanboy of PhillyCarShare. But, things changed over the last few months in a very negative way. Rates went up. And now with the sudden and unannounced closing of the Ardmore pod, there are no longer any pods within walking distance of my home.

Rather than reproduce the entire post here, I'll just point folks to where it lives on the Save Ardmore Coalition website:

http://www.saveardmorecoalition.org/node/2756

It's also been pointed out to me that local real estate developers in Ardmore were selling the town as being "walkable", and how car ownership was not required. Apparently the PhillyCarShare pod was cited as an example of such. Said developers might not be too happy at hearing of PCS's quiet departure. Whoops.

Comments

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

95$ a day to rent a Prius? absurd. Any car rental place is cheaper than that. Sounds like they very quickly filled up with upper management types who demanded fat salaries.

[giza.livejournal.com]

Oh, here's the best part: they're a 501(c)3 non-profit.

I should snag their IRS 990 and take a look. Though I do have the gut feeling that the money isn't going to fat salaries...

[omnibahumut.livejournal.com]

They're not trying to compete with car rentals, and that was sent out in a notice when they upped the rates. They're trying to deter people from making long-distance weekend trips with the cars, because that wasn't the goal of the program.

[giza.livejournal.com]

> They're trying to deter people from making long-distance
> weekend trips with the cars, because that wasn't the goal of
> the program.

Actually, no. They used to encourage long-distance trips with the cars on a regular basis.

Case in point, back when I joined, their insurance only covered the cars in PA, southern Jersey, and northern Delaware. We could only drive the cars in those areas and were told that driving in DC was a definitely nono. Then, a short while later, PhillyCarShare got better insurance coverage, and the cars could be driven all over the country. They sent out a huge announcement about this, encouraging members to take their cars on vacations, etc.

So this latest sudden, "we don't want you to take the cars on long trips" is a pretty big about-face on their part, and really screws those of us who have come to depend on the service for such.

[mapdark.livejournal.com]

If I wanted to rent a car I'd go through a rental service.. not that kind of stuff..

The only sort of thing that works well that's similar would be :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A9lib%27





But for some reason I don,t get , Americans have some sort of aversion to bikes.

Obama was called nn-serious for riding a bike . -_-;;

[bikerwalla.livejournal.com]

The republicans are going to be slinging mud for four years trying to find something that sticks. He's been called unserious for ordering orange juice for breakfast.

[natashasoftpaw.livejournal.com]

It's not so much that we have an aversion to bikes, it's just that they're impractical for much of the country. They're great for dense urban areas, especially the relatively flat ones, but the majority of the US does not fall into that category. There are urban areas that are exceedingly hilly, like Pittsburgh, where even the most in-shape person would have a hard time riding a bicycle to work and back on a daily basis. And, there are rural areas (especially in the midwest) where things are just too spread out for a bicycle to be practical. Those are usually the same places where public transit is extremely poor, or non-existant.

Plus, the prevalence of cheap fuel here for so long has created a culture where many people live a very long way from where they work, and in much of the US, it's quite desirable to work in a major urban area, and live as far away from it as possible. Considering that the top speed of a bicycle is, on average, about 20-25mph, a 40-60 mile commute is a bit much for such a slow vehicle. That's changing slowly now, but I highly doubt that bicycles will be as viable for personal transportation in the US as they are in parts of Europe in the next 10-15 years.

[giza.livejournal.com]

Riding a bike across the state to Anthrocon is a bit difficult. :-/

Also: http://bikesharephiladelphia.org/

[mapdark.livejournal.com]

coME ON , YOU'LL BE IN GREAT SHAPE ;)

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

Riding a bike to work would be fun. I'm in range for it too.

But I'd arrive all sweaty and stink at my desk all day. And funny thing, most buildings don't have a shower. Then I'd be frozen in winter, broiled in summer, knocked about by storms... And in this traffic, I may as well play Russian Roulette.

No, I'd have better odds of surviving if I played Russian Roulette.

[sirfox.livejournal.com]

that picture is utterly inadequate without you standing there looking smug and wearing an afro-wig.

[tcphilly.livejournal.com]

Keep in mind that there was a change in administration. And if you believe there's a real need in Ardmore, tell PCS, and have everyone else in Ardmore tell them.

[davinwarter.livejournal.com]

Is it just me or does it look like the key is stabbing two people through the gut in that sign?

In corporate Philly, car rides you!

[silverscalenaga.livejournal.com]

*record scratch to stop noise*