PhillyCarShare

I’m not a big fan of cars.  I appreciate them for what they are: a convenient means of personal transportation.  I can actually remember what life was like before everybody had two cars.  The streets were less crowded.  Parking was not a hassle and lots of folks were on the El and trolley cars going here and there.

So we have a car but not two.  That is sometimes inconvenient but when you look what a car costs, it doesn’t always make sense to have one to use once a week or so.

So when PhillyCarShare set up a pod in Frankord, I signed up right away just in case.  The case came up today when I had to get to some appointments and didn’t quite have enough time to make the connections by the bus  (I love the El but the buses are less fun).

You make your reservation either to phone or computer.  I prefer the computer.  When you sign up you set up a credit card for the billing and they send you a fob which is what unlocks the car when you get there.  You say when you need it and the web site shows you what is available and where it is parked.  I had a choice of getting the car at either Arrott and Griscom or the garage at the Frankford Transportation Center.  I opted for Griscom Street because it was closer.

This is the pod at Griscom Street.  There are two Toyota Prius there.  I was relieved when my fob did unlock the car.  It took me a few minutes to get the hang of starting the car because I had never driven one of those things before.  Help is available on the emergency line and it must be common  because they have a menu item for starting the Prius,  The tank was full (gas is included in the price) so I took off at about 12:30 PM and was back at about 2:45 PM.  Total cost was about $26.

For the occasional use, this is a bargain.  This is not a plug for PhillyCarShare but it is a local company.  Think global buy local.