How?  Hoboken’s Corner Cars.

Do you own a car in Hoboken but commute daily by transit, bus, bike, or walking? If you are like thousands of other residents, you move your car for street cleaning or pay high rates to park in a garage. You take your car for groceries, or to visit family, or to go to the beach. Other than that, your car sits around for days or weeks costing you money and just getting old. Well now there’s a great alternative that makes a car available to you whenever you need it, whether it’s for an hour or a week, and only costs you for the time you use it. You could potentially save thousands of dollars per year and have the convenience of a car always parked nearby in a reserved space. In Summer 2010, The City of Hoboken rolled out its biggest effort to improve parking conditions in Hoboken yet, saving participating residents thousands of dollars in the process. Corner Cars are a pool of vehicles made available to residents who sign up that are shared so that they’re used as often as possible. This means that instead of owning a car, you share a pool of cars with other residents.

How Do I sign Up?

The Corner Cars program is operated by Zipcar. Sign up at www.zipcar.com. Corner Cars was previously operated by Hertz  24/7. Previous Corner Cars users who were members of the Herts 24/7 service can sign up at www.zipcar.com/hobokencornercars.

How Do Corner Cars Improve the Parking Situation?

Surveys have shown that for each of these vehicles in Hoboken, over 17 households have given up their cars! An additional 20 or more households have said they delayed or avoided buying a car because of access to these cars. So, every time we put one of these cars on the street, we’re reducing demand for parking. The program includes about 50 Corner Cars, so we expect to see over 750 cars removed from the streets!

How Does the Corner Cars Program Work?

Simply sign up for the program and receive a membership card. Reserve cars online or by phone by the hour, and then walk to your car’s parking space on-street when you want it. Wave your membership card over the windshield and the doors unlock; the keys are already inside. Fasten your seatbelt and away you go! Return the car in the same location when your reservation is over and you’ll be billed automatically.