As part of its move to extend its car sharing operations throughout the US, Enterprise Rent A Car has introduced its WeCar car hire program to the University of Oregon campus. Two new Toyota Prius cars will now be available to students and staff at the university for car rental by the hour, overnight, during the day and even for short trips over the weekend. The environmentally friendly cars can be booked by drivers in just a matter of minutes whenever they are available, 24 hours a day.

The cars will be stationed on the university’s campus close to the Living Learning Centre. The idea behind offering the WeCar car rental service is to give drivers access to a vehicle that they will only have to pay for whilst they are actually using it. It is hoped that the scheme will encourage students and staff members to leave their cars at home to reduce vehicle congestion at the university. It also means that students will now be freer of the financial problems that come with owning a car at university.

Once signed up to the scheme the method of booking one of the cars is fully automated and takes just a few minutes. The University WeCar service is the first in the state of Oregon and mirrors WeCar operations at a number of other universities across the U.S.

Stephanie Kurtzman, who is director of the Community Service Office at the University of Washington, says that she would recommend the service to everyone, as it offers all the advantages of having an economical and convenient vehicle without actually having to own one.