Transit Authority, Car-Sharing Service To Share Card

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The Chicago Transit Authority and I-Go Car Sharing, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that enables consumers to rent cars by the hour, have agreed to create a card that would work with both agencies' systems, the organizations announced earlier this month.
 Beginning in December, 5,000 consumers who sign up with I-Go's car-sharing service and agree to get a Chicago Card Plus card from the transit authority will receive one card they can use to ride trains and buses and unlock I-Go cars, Richard Kosmacher, I-Go business development manager,says.
 Consumers use the card to access I-Go cars by waving them over a sensor on the car's windshield. The transit authority waived $5 fee for the Chicago Card Plus for first time users  Jan.1. The waiver will continue until further notice, according to the authority's Web site.
 The card is not a test but the beginnings of a new program, acccording to Sheila Gregory, transit authority general manager spokesperson. The two organizations plan to launch the shared card to the general public by the end of the year, she says.
 The card would carry two chips, one for transit payments and one for I-Go car access, so the revenues from the two organizations would not be combined, Kosmacher says. 
 "It's kind of exciting–one card in your wallet, and you can truly kill two birds with one stone," he says.
 The goal is to make commuters' lives simpler by providing them one card that can meet a variety of transportation needs, Kosmacher says.
 "I don't have to think about 'have I got the money in my pocket for what I am about to do;' it is all embedded in the card," he says.
 The Chicago Transit Authority wants to promote public transportation by giving commuters more options, the agency says in a press release.
 "Teaming up with I-Go Car Sharing makes transit even easier to use, which is important as we continue to find ways to meet the diverse transportation needs of our customers," Carole Brown, Chicago Transit Board chairperson, said in a statement.
 Rick Harnish, executive director of the Transit Rider's Alliance, a Chicago-based nonprofit focused on promoting public transportation, says he is not aware of any other transit system working with car-sharing companies, but he believes it is a great idea.
 "We've designed our current infrastructure in a way that there are times when you absolutely have to have a car," Harnish tells Prepaid Trends. "If a shared car becomes part of the transit network, the overall goal of reducing auto trips becomes achievable."
 Even with recent drops in the price of oil, over the long term, oil prices will continue to rise, and that means consumers will not be able to afford to drive the way they do now, Harnish says. So it is necessary to develop alternative means of transportation, he says.
 I-Go Car Sharing members usually give up their own cars when they join the service, so members tend to ride transit authority buses and trains moreso than they did when they owned their own cars, Kosmacher says.
 "We're not a competitor to CTA; we complement their business," Kosmacher says. "You don't own the train and bus you're on; you don't own the I-Go car. I-Go is a pay-for-use service just like public transportation is a pay-for-use service."
 I-Go has about 11,000 members and 100 cars, and the new card would bring in more members, Kosmacher predicts.
 "We'll get people joining I-Go because of the interest and excitement over this," he says.
 The Chicago Transit Authority plans to advertise the new card at bus stops and train stations, Kosmacher says.
 The Chicago Card Plus requires commuters to have a credit card on file with the transit authority. The authority automatically tops up the card balance when it falls below a certain level. I-Go requires its members to set up an account with a credit card and bills them each time they use a car.
 "What people will do, I think, is they will upgrade to the Chicago Card Plus" from other transit cards that are pay-as-you-go and join I-Go, Kosmacher says.
 The Chicago metropolitan area has three major public transportation agencies under its Regional Transit Authority: the Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago Metra Commuter Rail service, and PACE suburban bus service. They do not all accept one form of payment, but getting them onto one system is the best option, Harnish says.
 "You should be able to use one fare card for your parking garage, CTA, PACE, Metra and the toll road and getting the shared cars," Harnish says. "That makes the whole thing seamless."