Does anyone have any information/opinion about philly car share? I am looking into joining but wanted additional information whether its good, bad or evil


As alway Thanks

i love the phillycarshare. you can't go wrong with it. they have very reasoanble rates, have tons of cars located throughout the city, and it's completely free to join.

it takes about a week or two to have your application approved, at which point they'll send you the keyfob that can open the door of any of their cars. from there, you log on to their site (very easy to use by the way), pick what you want and when you want it, and just get in and go. the hourly rate covers everything, including insurance and gas.

the only negative i've ever experienced with them results from late cancellations. i booked a car, but a little bit before i was going to use it, no longer needed it. i couldn't get through to them over the phone b/c it was past 5 (or whenever they close). and i couldn't get to a computer, so i had to suck it up and pay for it even though i didn't use it. in all fairness, i'm sure that's how all these carshare programs work. i just think they should have staff on call 24/7 to address those issues, but then we'd probably have to pay some type of monthly/yearly fee for membership to offset those costs.

the only other thing to watch out for is going over your alloted time. that'll cost ya, b/c the next person to rent taht car is relying on you to get it back to the parking spot. if you're going to run late, just call (hopefully it happens during normal business hours...see above), and you can work it out. unfortunately for me, i was in the middle of an interview and couldn't do that, so again, i had to suck up teh costs.

but overall, i LOVE phillycarshare, and think it's a wonderful addition to the city. before that, you either had to cab it (very very expensive) or go to Avis/Hertz, etc. and rent a car for the whole day, even if you only needed it for 2 hours.

good luck!

Thank so much for all your information. I am applying now but there seems to be two plans but no explanation of the plans. i need to investigate more. Again thanks

Yep and they took a valuable spot right in front of my house, when I already don't have a spot to park... so at least YOU will always have a spot to park in! (I actually hear they are great if you don't have a car... but being someone who does, and hates looking for parking, losing one of a few spots on my block kinda pissed me off)

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"Beer..the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems!" Homer J.

I use it and it's very convenient.

In the bigger picture, it frees up parking spaces (fewer car owners = more spaces) and in the smaller picture, can save you a lot of money.

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– Brigadier General Julius C. Holmes
Allied Forces Headquarters
4 March 1943

PCS has always had 24/7 service. Outside of business hours, you can always reach the emergency line and the reservation line 24/7 by listening to the menu on the main number. It's available to all members.

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"Do I need to post these links thousands of times?" --bloosum

Advantage plan = $15/mo and lower rates
Basic plan = Free and higher rates

If you use it a lot, go for advantage, if not basic.

An there has always been 24 hour emergency service. You call the main number and the menu tells you what number to press for emergencies, reservations, and the new automated reservation system. All available 24/7.

Only other advise I have for you is read your handbook and contract. I love the service and think it is great, but I also took the time to read all the rules. The only complaints I have seen on here have been from people slapped with big fat fines for breaking rules they should have known about and think they shouldn't be responsible for their own ignorance.

Jinx! You owe me a Coke!

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"Do I need to post these links thousands of times?" --bloosum