Is More Drivers More Green?

The London Green fair was a weekend event held in Regent’s park, London. The fair hosted dozens of tents and exhibits ranging from perma-culture exhibits to sustainable funeral services. The event also hosted live music, speakers, poetry and a wide array of food options. While there didn’t appear to be any real criteria for having a tent the majority of the spaces were occupied by some form of environmentally conscious group or business. I wandered from a tent about cycling in the city to a pair of guys who built furniture from reclaimed packing pallets. Eventually, I came to a larger tent with a car parked in front of it and STREETCAR stenciled on the tent.
Streetcar is the English equivalent (and now subsidiary) of the American company Zipcar. These companies sell memberships, primarily to urban dwellers, who then are entitled to utilize cars for errands and trips. The popularity of the companies has grown dramatically in the past several years with rising gas prices and in the case of London the implementation of the congestion charge. These shared vehicles allow members to enjoy the mobility of being a car owner without worrying about the hassles of things like car maintenance, permanent parking and insurance.
My question for the Streetcar employees staffing the tent was, “how does a business that allows more people to access cars and essentially puts more cars on the road for more miles deserve a spot at a green fair?” Interestingly enough my question was deferred from one employee to another until finally one gentleman gave me an answer. He argued that while it does enable those who were previously not drivers to drive the program has also allowed for car owners to get rid of their cars and participate in a car co-op. He argued that Streetcar drivers use the cars much less than standard car owners and membership require drivers to pay for mileage beyond a certain point. Streetcar membership promotes shorter trips and a more local lifestyle. While he was not able to give me any data to support this argument, and not surprisingly the website does not boast about how the car service deters car usage. I found his argument compelling, even if it remains unsubstantiated. Streetcar embodies a concept that we encountered a few times this trip: good business and the environment do not have to be exclusive of one another. The Streetcar business model, intentionally or otherwise, encourages a local lifestyle and they charge more for long trips. So while they may be making it easier for more people to drive they are also encouraging more people to drive less. I don't know what the environmental impacts of Streetcar are but there is good reason to believe that Streetcar has the potential to change their members driving habits and by doing that have a positive impact on the environment.