With national for-profit carshare companies showing interest in the Austin market, the question is why do we need a local non-profit providing carsharing services instead of these or other for-profits?

These are the reasons why we think a local non-profit is the best choice for Austin.

1. Delivering a broader range of community benefits
The non-profit model supports broader community benefits in addition to financial sustainability. For example, carsharing can be integrated into a larger move to lower emissions, reduce traffic, improve development, and improve the local economy. Instead of trying to get people to drive our cars as much as possible as the for-profits do, AustinCarshare can help people drive less and use carsharing to improve our quality of life.

2. Providing lower costs to build a larger and more diverse membership
For profit start-ups must have a single mission: to return the highest possible profits to their investors. Because a non-profit need only be sustainable, we can set our prices to support actual organizational expenses, not the maximum the market will tolerate. This consumer affordability means we can serve more of the population and be more cost effective for business and governmental clients.

3. Leveraging public and private financing sources
The non-profit structure allows us to receive grants from government and foundations while accepting tax-deductible contributions from corporate and individual donors that support Austin's unique national reputation as an innovative city. As a non-profit, Austin Carshare is positioned as an entity that can joint venture with government, education, and corporate partners to test new energy and transportation technologies, joint marketing efforts, and experimental land development concepts. This is of special value in situations where non-profit granting agencies encourage matching financial or in-kind proposals.

4. Securely integrating carsharing into Austin's long-term transportation solution
A non-profit is the one entity that can ensure the stability and continuity required for a successful long-term program in a smaller metro area such as Austin.

The national for-profits have recently received large influxes of venture capital to expand services in the largest US metropolitan areas. It is still unclear whether these for-profits can generate venture capital returns when they enter the smaller metro markets, especially those without large scale dense development and extensive public transit infrastructure.

Then there is the question of to whom these investors will sell their interests in these companies once their investment has matured. This is of special importance to the Austin community culture. We do not want a carshare service that will go out of business due to ill-conceived expansion plans, or see services bought out by a third party and changed into something that doesn't fit our community.

5. Keeping money in the local economy
All the revenues generated by Austin Carshare will stay in Austin. Instead of supporting the salaries, operating expenses, profits, and multi-state growth strategy of an out of state company, Austin Carshare will employ Austin workers and reinvest in the local economy with service for Austin.