PhillyCarShare is a non-profit car-sharing organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

. The service was launched in 2002. PhillyCarShare has cars available for use 24 hours per day throughout the city of Philadelphia and the region. Its mission is "to maximize the economic, environmental, and social benefits of reduced automobile dependence in the Philadelphia region through community-based car sharing."

The goals of the company is to reduce the number of cars on the road; to 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

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

's John F. Kennedy School of Government

John F. Kennedy School of Government

The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...

. 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, Delaware

Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...

 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."

PhillyCarShare Membership Details

In October 2007 PhillyCarShare announced that its membership had reached 30,000.. By July 2008 PhillyCarShare announced that they had over 50,000 members, and that one in five residents of Center City

Center City, Philadelphia

Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...

 was a PhillyCarShare member.

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

Toyota Prius

The Toyota Prius is a full hybrid electric mid-size hatchback, formerly a compact sedan developed and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation...

, Honda Civic Hybrid

Honda Civic Hybrid

The Civic hybrid, based on the seventh generation Civic, was first introduced to the Japanese market in December 2001. Honda claimed it was the most fuel efficient 5-passenger gasoline-powered production vehicle in the world at the time. It was introduced to the U.S. in spring 2002 as a 2003 model...

, and Camry Hybrid. Other cars include the Toyota Tacoma

Toyota Tacoma

The Toyota Tacoma is a pickup truck produced and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation since 1995. The Tacoma was a compact pickup until a model redesign in 2005 when it was reclassified to a mid-size...

, Honda Element

Honda Element

The Honda Element is a compact crossover SUV based on a modified CR-V platform, manufactured in East Liberty, Ohio and marketed in the United States and Canada from December 2002.-Overview:...

, Mazda3, Audi A4

Audi A4

The first generation Audi A4 debuted in 1994, with production starting November 1994. It was built on the Volkswagen Group B5 platform, which it shared with the fourth generation Volkswagen Passat . It had a front-mounted longitudinal engine and front-wheel drive...

, Volvo S40

Volvo S40

The Volvo S40 is a small family car produced by Volvo. It introduced the first generation S40 and V40 cars in 1995...

, Ford Focus, Toyota Matrix

Toyota Matrix

The Toyota Matrix, sometimes officially referred to as the Toyota Corolla Matrix, is a compact hatchback manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation in Canada, to be sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico...

, Dodge Caravan

Dodge Caravan

The Dodge Caravan is a family minivan manufactured by Chrysler Group LLC and sold under its Dodge brand. Along with its nameplate variant, the Plymouth Voyager, the Caravan was introduced for the 1984 model year. In 1987, the Dodge Grand Caravan long-wheelbase model was introduced and sold...

, Honda Fit

Honda Fit

The Honda Jazz is a five-door hatchback subcompact manufactured by the Honda Motor Company of Japan, first introduced in June 2001 and is now in its second generation. The Jazz shares Honda's Global Small Car Platform with the City/Fit Aria, Airwave/Partner, Mobilio, Mobilio Spike, Freed and Freed...

, scion xa

Scion xA

Scion xA is a five-door hatchback subcompact 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 Toyota Platz sedan....

, scion xb

Scion xB

The Scion xB is a vehicle made by Toyota for the United States market and sold under their youth-oriented Scion brand. It is a box-shaped, 5-door compact hatchback.-First generation :...

, scion xd

Scion xD

The Scion xD is a five-door hatchback subcompact marketed in the US and Canada by Japanese manufacturer Toyota beginning with the 2008 model year — replacing the xA. The Scion xD and the second generation xB were first shown to the public on February 8, 2007 at the Chicago Auto Show...

, Subaru Impreza

Subaru Impreza

Introduced in November 1993, the Impreza was offered in either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive versions and as a four-door sedan/saloon or five-door station wagon/estate. According to a Motor Trend article written March 1992 on page 26, the name of Subaru's new compact was, initially, to be...

, Toyota Yaris

Toyota Yaris

The Toyota Yaris is a subcompact car produced by Toyota since 1999. Between 1999 and 2005, some markets received the same vehicles under the Toyota Echo name...

, Acura TL

Acura TL

The TL "Touring Luxury" debuted as 1996 model, first with the 1996 2.5 TL available with the 2.5 L 176 hp SOHC 20-valve 5-cylinder engine from the Vigor. The 3.2 TL used the 3.2 L 200 hp SOHC 24v V6 from the second generation Acura Legend. The 2.5 TL was positioned as the...

, Toyota Corolla

Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million...

 and Toyota Sienna

Toyota Sienna

The Toyota Sienna is a family minivan currently manufactured by Toyota at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana in Princeton, Indiana, United States for the North American market. It replaced the first-generation Previa van in 1997 with a more conventional front wheel drive layout and shares a heavily...

.

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.

Key to the City

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.

Philly Sound Clash

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

Battle of the Bands

Battle of Bands is a contest in which two or more bands compete for the title of "best band". The winner is determined by a panel of judges, the general response of the audience, or a combination. The winning band usually receives a prize in addition to bragging rights. Traditionally, battles of...

 type contest, 2007's winner was Philadelphia Slick

Philadelphia Slick

Philadelphia Slick is a live hip hop band, fronted by rapper Noesis, formed in 2005. Drummer El Smooth and Noesis handle production for the band, which also includes keyboardist Zach Reilly, saxophonist Matt Schwartz, and bassist Mike Polinsky...

.