Biz Ideas, a new category to GreenerMiami, will cover ideas for businesses that I think should exist in the Miami area and other areas. You may take these ideas and develop them in complete confidence. If you’d like to team up with me on one of these ideas, that’s great, too. Use them, talk about them, and make them happen - and be sure to let me know how it goes!

Our first Biz Idea is based off of PhillyCarShare’s business model (thanks for the tip, Treehugger). Here’s the idea: rent cars to people not by the day, but by the hour. Have cars located around the city for easy pick up and drop off. Include in the price: insurance, gas, maintenance, and child-seats. Use hybrids/fuel efficient cars and also have trucks available for larger loads.

PhillyCarShare’s Mission:

PhillyCarShare is a Philadelphia-based non-profit organization dedicated to reducing automobile dependency in the Philadelphia region through community-based car sharing – improving neighborhood livability; increasing transit ridership, walking, and biking; improving air quality; promoting economic development; mitigating development; mitigating parking demand; and increasing accessibility while alleviating the burdens of auto ownership.

And their prices? $15/month for an Advantage membership, $5.90/hr plus 9 cents/mile. Customers only pay 2 hours from midnight to 8am.

So, using those numbers, if a car was stationed in Brickell, and rented to go to the nearest Wal-Mart,  2 hours / 24 miles, it would cost just under $14.

Think about it - for people that may live in walking distance to work or use public transportation to get there and only need a car occasionally, or any number of other different scenarios. It could work in Miami!

Related Reading:

Ben & Jerry’s Double Dip: Lead with your values and make money too, was written in 1997, but I only just discovered it.

This book is a fun and interesting read - I highly recommend it.

Ben and Jerry talk about the beginning of their business, how they got started, and how they made decisions on the direction of their business.  They also talk about a concept called Social Responsibility which will talk a lot about here in GreenerMiami in the future.  I’m not really a Ben & Jerry’s customer, in fact, I can’t even think of the last time I had their ice cream.  But this book made me want to be associated with them. 

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