BlueIndy Car Sharing Expands Clean Transit Options in Indianapolis

To become a BlueIndy subscriber, Indianapolis residents who hold a current driver's license and have a credit card can sign up at one of six BlueIndy kiosks in downtown Indianapolis or on the BlueIndy website. After they receive a membership card, drivers can scan their card at a station and drive away. They can make reservations through the program website or a BlueIndy smartphone app; they can also secure parking reservations. The cars can be returned at any station, making one-way trips a breeze.

Pricing is based on the first 20 minutes of car use and then per minute after. Volume discounts are available, with daily packages starting at $8 for the first 20 minutes and 40 cents per minute after or a yearly package that costs $9.99 a month and $4 for the first 20 miles, and 20 cents per minute after. Student discounts and corporate rates are also available. Considering that most owners do not use their cars more than 90 percent of the time, BlueIndy makes an attractive alternative to expensive ownership costs, such as car insurance, since BlueIndy covers insurance and car maintenance.

The service got its start in Paris when the Bolloré Group started the world's largest and most successful electric car-sharing service. The organization then followed up with programs in Lyon and Bordeaux, France.

The company developed the cars, called the Bolloré BlueCar, with famed Italian automotive-design firm Pininfarina. The two-door hatchbacks, made in Italy, are four-seaters, have a 160-mile range, and a top speed of 81 mph. The claimed range is better than most EVs, such as the similarly sized Chevrolet Spark EV and Nissan Leaf, and will get drivers across more than enough miles in the larger metropolitan area on a single charge.

The BlueIndy program and the city's adoption of EV and hybrid for nonemergency vehicles will inform other cities' adoption of similar programs. London and Los Angeles are both planning to add EV car-sharing programs, while Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York City are all moving toward adding EVs and hybrids to their municipal fleets.

Learn more about fuel economy and alternative-fuel vehicles.

Source: BlueIndy Car Sharing Expands Clean Transit Options in Indianapolis