Car Share Unveiled In Indianapolis

Indianapolis is about to have the largest electric car share in the United States.

French company Bollore is preparing to launch the program and is giving the city an idea of what to expect.

By the end of the year, Bollore plans to have 25 car sharing kiosks operating around Indianapolis. Ultimately, the company wants 1,000 charging stations at 200 locations to support 500 electric vehicles. Chairman Vincent Bollore says bringing the program to Indianapolis was a dream for him because of its history of cars and racing.

"From a baby to now, Indianapolis is for me the 'Temple of the Cars,'" he said.  "So. I thought it was good plan to start in the United States.  Secondly, Indianapolis has one million people, so it's a good size in the world for starting."

And, he told a crowd downtown that the goal is to make a cleaner, more efficient city.

"It's a cheap service, which allows people not to have, all the time, their own car, to share the car, which helps to fight against the pollution," said Bollore.  "No noise.  No emmission."

Bollore has similar programs in Paris, Leon, Bordeaux and London.

The cost of the car share called BlueIndy will be a $100 annual membership or $10 an hour for individual rides.

Indianapolis based Energy Systems Network helped the company with the project and roll out.

President Paul Mitchell says it makes sense to pick Indy as the first U.S. city over larger ones such as New York and San Francisco.

"I think that they were looking for a market that they could launch in the United States that could be replecated effectively across the U.S.," said Mitchell.  "Indianapolis is a city that is laid out in many ways like other cities in the U.S., be it Columbus, or Kansas City, or even Atlanta, so if they can make that service work here, it's a good jumping off point."

And Mitchell looks to the city’s 80,000 college students as key to the program’s early success.

"Parking is a real problem for those students as they come to the campuses, whether its IUPUI, Butler, UIndy," he said.  "So, we early on talked with the chancellor and presidents of those institutions to say 'hey, we need to target your students and create a lower cost way for them to get back and forth from campus.'"

Bollore is investing $35 million for the car share in Indianapolis. Vincent Bollore says it will require about 20,000 riders a year to break even.

But, all tax payers will have to contribute even if they don’t use the service.

Indianapolis Power and Light Company is asking the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to approve a rate increase to pay for the charging stations.

Customers will pay about 44 cents a month more for five years. A small price for the potential return say IPL President Kelly Huntington.

"The reason we decided to support the city on this project is because we think forward thinking projects like this are what make Indianapolis a great city," she said.  "So, people could have said the same thing about building a new stadium or the cultural trail, but we think this is a great investment for the city of Indianapolis."

She expects a decision on the rate hike from the IURC sometime this summer.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard believes ultimately the increase won’t be necessary, because the cost will be covered by the revenue generated by the car share.

"It's a fall back.  It's a fall back.  At it's worst, if nobody drives the cars, it's like 44 cents a month for five years and then that would be over," said Ballard.  "Once people start driving it and start using the service, then part of that goes into paying for the installation, so we are hoping that it negates all of it."

Ballard’s goal is to convert the city’s vehicle fleet to hybrids by 2025.

He thinks the new car share helps complement that.

"Once they see how committed the city is and Bollore is to making this thing work.  I think it will be fine," he said.  "People will start using it almost immediately.  Once multiple sites start to get up,  I think you are going to start seeing people driving the cars.  I think you will start seeing a change in patterns of behavior in the city."

Residents can test the car share at a charging station downtown on Washington Street.

Construction of the first 25 kiosks is expected to begin around September with the program launching for good by the end of the year.