CarShare program expected come to campus later this fall
Students who choose not to bring cars to college may not have to worry about being stranded without a ride thanks to a new campus car rental program through Enterprise CarShare.
The program is scheduled to be in place at CMU by the beginning of the spring semester. CMU officials do not have an exact date for when they will receive its CarShare vehicles.
Already working in universities around the U.S., CarShare is a way for students to rent a car on university property for several hours at a cheaper than normal rental price.
Judy Lannen, senior buyer of Contracting and Purchasing Services, describes the rental process as “pretty simple” and fairly easy to use.
“You make the reservation online,” Lannen said. “And then with the card you get, you go to your car, and then you return it to the same spot [when finished].”
Two CarShare cars will be located on campus. There will be one car parked by Lot 27 by the Library and one parked by Lot 42 near Kulhavi Hall.
After an initial $35 start-up fee, which the student will then make back in accredited fees for future rentals, it will cost $7.50 per hour for a student to rent a car. On the weekends, the price goes up to $8.50.
The return system operates a lot on an honor system, Lannen said, but those cars can be monitored by the company. If they are returned late, Car Share will know who has the car and for how much longer than initially applied for.
