The Mobile GR Department is calling its DART EV CarShare program a success.
Drivers sign up through an app and reserve electric vehicles for $5 an hour up to 24 hours, returning them to charging stations in parking facilities downtown and in city neighborhoods.
Since launching last year, the program has had about 200 active users, who have collectively driven more than 143,000 over 23,000 hours.
Ariana Jeske, assistant director of Mobile GR, says the program has already expanded from six vehicles to nine, with plans to have 12 by 2027.
“It's something that is really kind of getting people through the times where they may have had a vehicle and just kind of reached that point where it's too expensive to repair or they're exploring if they want to be car-free within the city. We've had some fairly long trips to medical establishments outside the city.”
Jeske says the initial investment was $500,000 over three years to the program’s operator plus the cost of installing four charging stations at $50,000 each.
City leaders are now looking at ways to continue funding the program after its three-year trial.
“Figuring out if we may utilize some public private partnerships. We've had a lot of interest from private developers at large multifamily units wanting to have one of these cars parked there and so we're looking at what we can do to maybe fill that need and get more of the vehicles out in the community.”
The city estimates nearly 10,000 households in Grand Rapids do not have access to a personal vehicle.
For more information and updates on the DART CarShare program, please visit grandrapidsmi.gov/mobilegr or contact 311 Customer Service at 616-456-3000 or 311.
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