eGo CarShare Partners With Boulder Co-ops for Affordable Carsharing

In an effort to support multimodal transportation in community oriented housing, eGo CarShare has partnered with housing cooperatives around Boulder to offer them discounted carsharing memberships and rates. Participating houses purchase a group deal at a reduced rate, which then enables all members of the co-op to receive a carshare membership. Some of the co-ops such as Masala, Chrysalis, and Ostara, are part of the Boulder Housing Coalition (BHC), a nonprofit, community housing-development organization; other participating co-ops are independent. eGo CarShare put a car on-site at Ostara in late 2014 and has now worked to bring a discounted deal to other co-ops in the areas well. The idea behind the partnership is to advance eGo CarShare’s mission of promoting alternatives to individual car usage, thereby reducing the social and environmental impacts of motor vehicle use, and to support co-ops by offering affordable alternative transit options that reduce their transportation impact, and save co-op members money.

The discounted carshare program is part of a comprehensive effort by Boulder co-ops to reduce their impact on parking and traffic in the community. Co-ops often struggle with Boulder’s rules and regulations regarding housing, including the occupancy ordinance which states that no more than three unrelated people can live together in a house or apartment. Parking and setback requirements also impact the ability to develop more cooperative housing. Affordable carsharing, which allows members to have another mobility option in addition to walking, biking, and transit, without needing their own personal vehicles, is a win for everybody.

Says Zane Selvans, a BHC board member and chair of Boulder’s Transportation Advisory Board, who lives at the Masala co-op, “We want to participate in carsharing not only for affordability and sustainability reasons, but also to be good neighbors. Parking and traffic impacts are one of the main complaints we come up against when we’re trying to make new or legalize existing co-ops, so we are actively seeking solutions to mitigate those impacts.”

Toyota Prius C Hybrid On-site at Ostara Co-op

Cooperative housing is a great addition to the Boulder landscape. It provides affordable housing, reduced environmental impact, and an emphasis on community. eGo CarShare, Colorado’s only local and nonprofit carsharing service, is uniquely able to partner with such institutions to provide excellent discounted rates to meet the needs of local residents and organizations such as Boulder’s co-ops.

If you live in a cooperative housing situation and are interested in participating, or to learn more about the carshare co-op program, please contact Alexis Bullen at [email protected] or 303-720-1185 x4.