Indianapolis’ Car-Sharing Service is Generating Controversy

When the BlueIndy electric vehicle ride-sharing service started operation on Sept. 2 here, Cassie Stockamp wasted little time getting rid of her car.

She sold her 2009 Volkswagen CC that day so she could rely on the blue and white BlueIndy cars and her bicycle for her short commutes to work and around the city.

Stockamp wistfully describes her CC as a “beautiful car,” but she’s not losing any sleep now that it’s gone.

“I’m thrilled not to have the car payment, the insurance, the oil changes, the fill-ups,” says Stockamp, who commutes less than five miles daily from her home in the hip SoBro neighborhood north of central Indianapolis to her job downtown as president of the nonprofit Athenaeum Foundation. The nearest Blue-Indy cars are just a few blocks from her house. “We don’t have a great mass transit system. That [BlueIndy] was the final piece I needed to sell my car. I really do care about my carbon footprint. That’s my biggest motive.”

BlueIndy, one of the nation’s first municipally supported one-way EV ride-sharing services, eliminates many vehicle ownership hassles including insurance, maintenance, 24/7 roadside assistance, GPS and parking searches. All are courtesy of the city and Bollore Group, the French industrial and energy conglomerate that is investing $41 million to set up and run the service on a 15-year contract.

“It’s there when you want it and when you need it,” said Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard in the Sept. 2 ceremony inaugurating a service he championed, sometimes in the face of a storm of political opposition. (See related story, at right.)

“It’s a service that is perfect for students who can’t or don’t want to own a car, for empty nesters looking to downsize, for people who need reliable transportation that can’t afford car payments and insurance and registration and fuel.”

In its first few weeks, BlueIndy has signed up more than 500 members. Stockamp took advantage of a half-price introductory offer of $60 for a year. That will give her access to about 1,000 dedicated parking places in 200 locations around town once the service is fully operational next summer. At press time, about 50 cars were operating with 28 parking locations open with five spaces each.

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