When you live in a city as large as Houston, owning your own vehicle can make little to no sense. There are many different modes of transportation that are less expensive, more reliable and easier to maintain than a private vehicle. Nevertheless, many people still hold on to their cars for the symbolic freedom and the ease of use that they offer. However, with more and more people concerned about the effects they are having on the earth, there has been a surge in car shares.

Car shares are, in essence, a group of people that get together and use a vehicle intermittently. This, of course, only works when the people are willing to use public transportation and walking for most of their travel needs, but still want to have a car available when they need it. In general this can save the users about 20% compared to keeping a car because the company or co-op pays for the car, insurance, maintenance and, in some cases, fuel.

Unfortunately, because these companies and co-ops are fairly new, there are many restrictions that go along with the use of the vehicle. The major issue is that very few companies can offer one way car shares. Thankfully, there are a few large companies (Hertz and Zipcar) that should be able to work out a one way trip. Nevertheless, if it comes down to it, there are many people that are willing to split the costs of travel with someone in their own vehicles (ride share).