Baby, you can share my car
Here at the Wellingtonista we like public transport, but there are times when you need a car to do stuff, like picking up that flatpack cocktail cabinet out in Lower Hutt.
At the moment your options are pretty much limited to borrowing a friend's car, hiring a taxi, or forking out for a rental, but there is a more sensible option.
It's called car sharing, and is currently up and running in Auckland through a company called Cityhop.
With Cityhop, you pay a yearly fee (currently $75), and when you need to use a car, you make a booking, then pick up your car from one of the specified city car parks, do your car-related stuff, then return it, paying a $13.50 hourly rate (including petrol!) for its use.
Cityhop's been running in Auckland since September last year, and according to their website they'll be opening soon here in Wellington.
Needless to say, we will be keeping a close eye on this. Perhaps now we'll finally be able to get that cocktail cabinet for Wellingtonista Towers.
That is a fantastic idea! Now if they also ran hybrids...
ps. does the cocktail cabinet come with a place for us to keep our tiki mugs?
Great idea!
But.. hybrids my a**e
Little cars like this are greener than poxy hybrids!
Hey, if you get a in a taxi which is a hybrid, it should be cheaper than the normal $/km rate, right? Otherwise... what's the point (Other than a show of altruistic and sometimes ostentatious concern for the 'environment')?
Not to get back into that debate but: yes. And Green Cabs are cheaper. Their idling rates are less than others and after a few "experiments" they have always been the cheaper option.
Brilliant! These things rock. When it finally comes to Wellington (June?), I'm all over it.
Hi Jason,
we're in Wellington - two car parks to start. Clifton Tce and Library basement.
check out the story in Dominion on stuff.co.nz last week - Friday 25 2008
www.stuff.co.nz/dominionpost/4629925a23918.html
cheers and Happy Cityhoppping
As far as I can tell the cheapest cabs are Capital (2.50 per k, 2.50 flagfall), then Green, then Combined, in that order.
I got a Capital cab on Bond St the day. He wasn't first in the rank and the other drivers gave me shit as I got in. Well, if they didn't charge 40c more per k and an extra dollar flagfall they might get my custom too.
They actually gave you shit?! Jeeeesus.
Yeah, I was a bit taken aback. All the other cabs were from another firm, can't remember which -- Diamond, maybe -- and they were pointing at the first car shouting "he was there first, why don't you take a ride with him?"
I hate to say it, but I think ethnic tension plays a part here. The Capital drivers are mostly North African. I have been given to understand that at least one other firm actively avoids hiring them. In each firm there is an ethnic group that predominates, or is absent. There's more going on than meets the eye...
I hope you gave them shit back. Like, gave them the finger and told them to read their rule-book.
hey Wellington,
Cityhop has arrived!
There is a car at Clifton on the Terrace.
More to come.
And you can use our cars from Auckland airport if you ever go north!
thanks for your interest
Cityhop
Yes! I'm in the process of joining and will report back.
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