Car pooling, or ride sharing, involves connecting drivers who are willing to take passengers with people who need a ride. Ann Arbor resources include,
- AATA participates in the Michigan RideShare carpool matching service, intended for commuter use. This service serves commuters with work destinations within Washtenaw County, Livingston County, Macomb County, Monroe County, Oakland County, St. Clair County, and Wayne County.
- RideNow is a more ad hoc service / study out of the School of Information.
- Zimride is sponsored by the University of Michigan [1]
Car sharing is a setup by which multiple people share use of (or "have shares in") a car or pool of cars. This can be done as a for-profit business, as a non-profit cooperative, or as an informal arrangement. The idea behind it is that fixed costs, such as purchase of the car, insurance, and parking permits, can be amortized across a group of people by making more intensive/efficient use of the car's time.
Maven has cars near downtown, central campus and north campus starting at $8/hour. No membership fee or separate card required. Use your smartphone to lock and unlock. Since it is owned by GM, all the cars are GM cars.
Zipcar has a number of cars in Ann Arbor, and is supported by the University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor DDA.
The Ann Arbor group A2C3, or Ann Arbor Community Car Cooperative, had a car on the road for over a year before closing down.
Zipcar is also available in Detroit on the Wayne State University campus.
