Photo courtesy of IGO
IGO, Chicago's own carshare company, has been acquired by Enterprise Holdings.
On Tuesday, May 28, Clayton, Missouri-based Enterprise Holdings, which owns and operates Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands, acquired Chicago-based car-sharing company (and Commute Options Provider) IGO. Enterprise, which also operates the Enterprise CarShare Network, plans to maintain the IGO name in Chicago.
IGO was founded in 2002 as a Center for Neighborhood Technology pilot program and grew to 15,000 members with vehicles in 40 neighborhoods and four suburbs, and into the only car-sharing service with 100 percent low-emission vehicles. Founded in 1957, Enterprise is the largest American car rental company, and has been in the car-sharing business since 2007. Their first carshare program, WeCar, was established at Washington University in St. Louis. As of September 2012, they are involved with 100 carshare programs in 30 states and Canada.
In 2011, Enterprise bought PhillyCarShare, a nonprofit carshare program in Philadelphia. Last year, they acquired Mint Cars On Demand, a car-sharing company in Boston and New York.
Due to changing market conditions, car rental companies now see carsharing as an extension of their existing business. As we reported a few months ago, Avis Budget Group acquired ZipCar Inc. in January 2013. And Hertz started its own car-sharing service is 2008, and bought Eileo, a Parisian car-sharing service, in 2009.
Enterprise also has made inroads into the rideshare market. They work with transit authorities in many U.S. cities, including Indianapolis, Ind., and Minneapolis, Minn., to provide carpooling and vanpooling programs.
Car rental companies can provide resources to the car-sharing market, since they can more easily increase the number of vehicles in a car-sharing fleet or provide entry into new markets. Enterprise is planning to update about one-quarter of IGO’s vehicles and expand into new neighborhoods in the near future. All of the IGO staff and call center operations will be retained to aid in the transition.
Alternative Transportation for Chicagoland, Inc. (ATC), the nonprofit entity that operated IGO, will continue to exist as an affiliate of the Center for Neighborhood Technology. Sharon Feigon, IGO’s former chief executive officer, will head ATC and continue to focus on other ways to help Chicagoans live well without owning a car. The acquisition will benefit Chicago area commuters, as it expands carsharing options. MPC looks forward to continuing our work with a Commute Options partners that encourages commuters to consider alternatives to driving alone.