RENT A CAR FOR $5 AN HR

The City of Grand Rapids’ Mobile GR Department is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its DART EV CarShare program, a pilot

initiative launched in October 2024 to provide residents and visitors with convenient, low-cost access to electric vehicles.

As part of the Michigan Carshare network, DART EV CarShare allows users to reserve an electric vehicle for $5 per hour, which includes insurance. The service partners aim to reduce the financial burden of car ownership while expanding access to transportation options. Since launching, the program has attracted about 200 active users, who have collectively used the service for over 23,000 hours and driven more than 143,000 miles.Getting started with the CarShare program is quick and easy. Users can sign up through the program's app (available at Dartgr.org and through the Android / iOS as “MDO Carshare”), upload photos of their driver's license as well as a payment method, and await membership processing, which typically takes a few days. Once approved, members use the app to reserve a vehicle in advance, access it at the start of their trip, and return it to the same station when finished. To complete the trip, members return the vehicle to the same location and simply plug the vehicle into its charger.