Buffalo CarShare (BCS) is in jeopardy of going by the wayside. Out of the blue, the community-driven organization has been slapped with a notice from its auto insurance company, Philadelphia Insurance, that they are being dropped from their plan on June 15, 2015. BCS is reaching out to the community and to local support groups to spread the word, in hope that the organization can come up with an alternative plan.
“For me, it has made a world of difference, allowing me to be a normal and productive member of society when my economic standing and abilities would have prevented me to be otherwise,” said Cathy Wallace, Buffalo CarShare member, “In other words, this organization has been life altering to me, it is because of Buffalo CarShare that my life has been majorly and positively improved. In the past two and half years, Buffalo CarShare has been along the journey of getting me out of homelessness, to settling into a studio apartment. It has given me the ability to get to doctors appointments with medical providers outside the metro line which has allowed me to get my health back under control. It is very hard for me to imagine what my life would be like if Buffalo CarShare wasn’t an option.”
Unfortunately, it looks as if procuring this type of coverage in New York State is rather difficult, which doesn’t bode well for the car share company. And that is too bad, because according to BCS, the demographic that mainly uses car sharing services is low income drivers. From BCS:
- NY State No-fault law restricts auto insurance carriers from coming into the state
- BCS would be insured if it existed in a different state
- BCS vehicles have had over 35,000 reservations and over 1 million miles driven
- Most trips have been to the grocery store, doctor appointments and job interviews. These trips may have not been taken without BCS available
- 50% of our membership base makes <25,000 per year
- Partner institutions like Buffalo State College, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and 40 other community non-profits will lose a key environmental strategy into reducing parking, traffic, congestion, and carbon emissions
- Buffalo CarShare is responsible for reducing 816 tons of carbon into the environment, which would be negated when members are forced to buy their own vehicles
CarShare is also heavily used by people who willingly do away with their own car for environmental reasons. Car sharing has given car owners the ability to ditch their cars, while still having access to one when they need it. But NYS is a “no fault” state, thus there is no insurance product available for car sharing systems. For six years Philadelphia Insurance provided a plan for the organization, but eventually the no-fault status of the state forced the company to rethink its policy. Now the coverage is being terminated – something that could be reversed if the right insurance company is found, or NYS was to come up with a clause or loophole for the car share industry. The City of Buffalo could also flex its creative muscle to try to save BCS.
“This problem doesn’t exist for independent car sharing organizations in the 38 states without nofault, in fact, the City of Los Angeles is seeking to implement a car sharing system based on the Buffalo model. The city won’t have any issues finding an insurance carrier because California is one of many states where the laws reflect a need for transportation innovation,” said Mike Galligano, Executive Director, Buffalo CarShare.
As Buffalo CarShare scrambles to come up with a quick solution, the organization has identified two possible solutions to remedy the situation:
- Buffalo CarShare can be brought under the umbrella of a larger organization that is self insured, such as
a public entity or transportation company - BCS can work with the state Department of Financial Services to create an insurance product for car sharing
“This is extremely urgent and if BCS does not find a solution we will be forced to cease operations,” says Jennifer White, Communications Director at Buffalo CarShare.
Members of the community are encouraged to contact Buffalo CarShare at 7168980850 or info@buffalocarshare.org to offer support at this critical time. BCS can best work through these options with broad public support.
Photo: BCS truck being utilized by the non-profit Grassroots Gardens