Hey, I share cars with iGo–you should too!

So I’m now the “poster girl” of sorts for iG0–it’s a nonprofit car sharing program in Chicago (and in other cities as part of the Flexcar network). You pay by the hour at a rate depending on the plan you choose, and you never have to pay for gas or insurance–it’s AWESOME.

I first learned about it from an article online from one of the local Chicago papers and thought the concept was great. I was, at the time, living with my boyfriend in Bridgeport. He had a car, but we were right off the Orange line so we were pretty well taken care of, transportation wise. Then, one day we returned home after a vacation and his car’s windows were broken and the radio and tires were gone. Needless to say we were both upset for quite a long time, and it was the final straw for my boyfriend in terms of living in the neighborhood.

When did come around to logically discussing getting another car and / or moving, iGo was on the table, but we decided that we would move first and see how the new situation would pan out. After a few months in our new place in Wicker Park, I ran across a situation in one of my businesses where I would need a car to run some things I had imported into the country back from the airport. I remembered iGo and called to see if they could rush through a membership for me–and they did! Then I started using it to go shopping for big things that wouldn’t fit on the bus or el (like shelving from the Container Store), and for playing at shows or going to parties at night (the hours are free between midnight and 6am–it’s perfect for people like me who DJ or perform live at parties).

If you need a car for a few days on a trip, you would probably be better off with a rental car, but if you just need a car to run to and from places on the same day, it’s wonderful, and you don’t have to worry about finding parking when you get back (which, in my neighborhood is a HUGE pain). My boyfriend decided to get a membership for himself and he uses it to transport large things to his studio on the west side, as well as visit his friends on his “geek nights” that sometimes run into the early mornings (they watch nerdy movies, discuss comic books, and engage in geek bonding).

I also recently did an interview with the Conscious Choice magazine and explained to them why I joined and why I love iGo. I had spend about a year in the south of France in a small city and had come to love the pedestrian city lifestyle and was depressed about coming back to the states and trying to survive in its car-centric culture. iGo is a great way to both be environmentally conscious and keep more cars off of the roads–things that I totally believe in. So if you’re in the city and think iGo is right for you, sign up. It’s cost effective and environmentally responsible and will help make the city a better place to live.