Oberlin rolls out car-sharing plan as nation goes electric

OBERLIN — Two Nissan Leafs will be made available to the public starting Thursday as the city of Oberlin launches an electric car-sharing program. Residents will be able to check out the vehicles for quick runs to the grocery store, doctor's appointments, airport pickups and other errands. The cost will be $8 per hour and up to 25 miles, with an additional 36-cent charge for every additional mile driven inside the same hour. Linda Arbogast, the city's sustainability coordinator, said America is making a rapid switch to electric transportation. "The car manufacturers are looking at their bottom line and saying, 'We've got to get on board with this,' because the ones who do are the ones who are successful," she said. General Motors has committed to making its entire light-duty lineup electric by 2035. That includes full-size pickups and SUVs. Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo all are shifting to selling only electric vehicles in the coming decade, and Volkswagen is making a bid to overtake Tesla as the leading producer of electric cars in the next five years. The transition away from reliance on fossil fuels is "just super exciting," Arbogast said. Her main concern is the environment. "Climate change is upon us," Arbogast said. "It's no longer something to discuss, it's something to deal with on a day-to-day basis. It's here, and the effects are going to be felt now and forever, so we need to start planning and adapting." Oberlin's car-sharing service aims to give people a chance to try out electric vehicles and help them become comfortable with the emerging technology, she said. Michael Peters is CEO and co-founder of Sway Mobility, the Shaker Heights-based company providing cars and charging stations to Oberlin at a startup cost of $223,000 over five years. He said car-sharing is a way to address the high cost of transportation. "There are people who pay more of their income for transportation than they do on housing, just because of the way cities are built," he said. Sway Mobility contends its services save the average user $5,500 per year that would otherwise be put into vehicle payments, gas, insurance and related costs. It also says 11 personal vehicles are removed from the road for every car-share vehicle introduced, and every shared car represents a 10 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The first generation of car-sharing was focused on urban areas, where people tend to have more options for how to get around, Peters said. The next generation is based on making access more equitable, he said. Sway Mobility wants to put services where residents have fewer transportation options. "We feel that there is a need. The more programs we do like this, the more data we can gather, the more we can show that need exists," Peters said. He doesn't believe the Oberlin service will be popular in its first year. If each Nissan is used a couple of hours a day, that will be a win. Eventually, as residents grow comfortable with using them and word of mouth spreads, he'd like to see the Oberlin cars in use 25 percent of the time. Arbogast said she suspects car-sharing will be used mainly by younger people who are tech-savvy. They'll have a leg up when using Sway Mobility's app to sign up for use, schedule times and unlock car doors. The app and other information about the service can be found at www.swaymobility.com/oberlin-carshare. As part of the service, three new vehicle charging stations have been installed in Oberlin to "fuel" up electric cars. They can be used by anyone who drives electric vehicles. There are now three charging stations in the parking lot near Oberlin City Hall on South Main Street, and a fourth at the George Abrams Memorial Pavilion down the road. There is a fee. An hour's charge plus staff taxes and administrative fees will cost about $1.30. After months of debate, Oberlin City Council voted 4-3 in October to contract with Sway Mobility to provide car-sharing. The city will get half of the revenue generated each year by the service. Arbogast said car-sharing is meant to complement other public transportation options. The city recently expanded its Lorain County Transit service. Bus service is now available from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Call (800) 406-7541 to schedule a ride. Trips are $2, one way. Discounts are available. The service area includes the city of Oberlin and portions of New Russia Township, Amherst Township, the city of Amherst, Lorain, Sheffield Township, Elyria and Carlisle Township. Learn more at www.cityofoberlin.com/oberlin-connector. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.