U Car Share
To reduce the number of cars brought to campus, introduce sustainable transportation, provide a cost-effective alternative to car ownership, and to provide a great service to the local community, Luther has partnered up with U Car Share to bring a car sharing program to campus.
Luther College students, faculty, and staff, along with Decorah community members, can drive self-service cars by the hour or day, 24/7. Gas, maintenance/roadside assistance, insurance and parking are all included. Use U Car Share for errands, shuttling friends to the airport, shopping, or quick road trips anytime of the day or night. It's far more convenient and cost effective than owning a car.
How U Car Share Works
JOIN
For a one-time fee of $25, students, faculty, staff, and community members can join at www.ucarshare.com. A special promotion is being held where anyone can get $25 in FREE driving when you join for $25 using the promotional code "ucartable". You will receive an e-mail once approved and be able to start reserving the vehicles. If you have a driver's license and meet the basic requirements, you can (and should) apply for U Car Share membership. The process takes about 3-5 business days.
Here are some tips for joining U Car Share as an international student.
If you are already a member of another car sharing program (ZipCar, Hour Car, etc), you can sign up for U Car Share for FREE. Enter the code "Other" in the promotion box when joining to avoid the sign-up fee.
RESERVE
Choose any car and time. Rates as low as $4.95/hour with a low price guarantee. Sign in to your account and reserve any of our cars for any time you wish, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Members reserve online, by phone, mobile device or iPhone.
You only pay for what you use. You'll start out on our Pay as U Go plan, but can upgrade any time.
DRIVE
Unlock your reserved car by typing your personalized pin in the keypad. Get in and go! Here is a link to a video introduction to the new experience of using the keypad versus the card to get in and out of the car. Find the video here.
The keys are in the ignition! Run all your errands and return the car where you found it.
RENTAL FEE SCHEDULE
Members can use the vehicle for short trips at a lower rate ($4.95/hr) which does not include mileage ($0.59/mile) – great for short distance trips that require a longer use of the vehicle - or a flat rate ($9.25/hr) that includes 180 miles per reservation. Within this rate structure there are also plan discounts available for people who know they will be using the vehicles frequently. U Car Share offers a low price guarantee and bills the member the lowest rate based on their reservation information at the end of each reservation. These standard flat hourly rates include gas, insurance, and mileage and will depend on the plan chosen by the member. Because every market is different, they allow for their pricing structure to adjust as necessary.
CARS & PARKING SPACES
There are two U Car Share vehicles (one hybrid and one Ford Focus) available for hourly rental by students, faculty, staff, departments, and the community. These vehicles are located in two signed parking spots in the back of the library parking lot adjacent to the road to Jenson at Luther. Map here of U Car Share cars location.
U Car Share can provides a customized program for Luther College that allows departments to manage driver access and get reports on usage and membership levels as well as provides departmental billing options. Options include:
○ Customized departmental approvals
○ Customized reports for each department
○ Detailed invoices for each department
○ Access to online back-end system for reports and the ability to determine usage restrictions for individuals within each department
MEMBER HANDBOOK
