Corner Cars, Hoboken’s city-wide car-sharing program which allow residents convenient access to a car without having to endure the high costs and inconvenience of owning one, is exceeding membership and utilization expectations and already taking cars off of Hoboken’s crowded streets.

The program has more than 400 members who have made more than 1,300 vehicle reservations. The vehicle utilization rate is meeting new program targets based on prior data from comparable cities.

"Hundreds of Hoboken residents are already finding convenience and value in having these cars located in reserved on-street spaces by their homes; this despite only occupying 42 parking spaces throughout the City,” said Transportation and Parking Director Ian Sacs. “We even have several residents who already surrendered their Residential parking permits because Corner Cars saves them thousands of dollars per year versus the frustration of owning a car in Hoboken."

Connect by Hertz has announced a “$5 Tuesdays” promotion in which all Connect by Hertz vehicles in Hoboken will cost just $5 per hour on Tuesdays in September, beginning today, September 7th.

Hoboken residents who register for Corner Cars with the “Hoboken” keyword will receive two years of free annual membership and a $75 credit to their account. A one-time $25 registration fee is required. Registration instructions are available at http://www.hobokennj.org/cornercars/.

In conjunction with car rental and car sharing companies, regional transit agencies, and local businesses, the City of Hoboken will soon be announcing a “Surrender Your Permit” program to encourage residents to consider alternate modes of transportation. Those who surrender a parking permit at the Parking Utility will receive an incentive package valued at more than $400.

In addition to encouraging existing residents to reconsider the need for car ownership, Corner Cars is also allowing more new residents to move to Hoboken without a car.

“We are already hearing from new residents who recently moved to Hoboken that have either left their car behind or brought just one instead of two cars because of the availability of car-sharing in Hoboken,” added Director Sacs. “As a result, the City has been working with Connect to formalize a promotional program forHoboken realtors to provide prospective new residents with this important information and further reduce the number of cars on our streets.”

Corner Cars, the first true city-wide car-sharing program in the country, has also attracted the attention of the academic community. ACCESS, a highly-respected research magazine from the University of California Transportation Center, recently cited Corner Cars in their Spring 2010 issue. Director Sacs has also been invited to address Corner Cars and other innovative transportation initiatives at the upcoming Complete Streets Conference scheduled to take place at the Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University in New Brunswick on October 22nd.