Ithaca Carshare to pause service May 19

ITHACA, N.Y. — Ithaca Carshare will pause its operations beginning May 19 due to an inability as a nonprofit to find auto-insurance coverage.

In a statement on the organization’s website, Director Liz Field said the organization has been searching for months for auto insurance but hasn’t found a single private or commercial insurance company willing to cover the program.

Ithaca Carshare is a nonprofit, membership-based service that provides around-the-clock vehicle access on an hourly basis. Members can book a time slot with the service to use a vehicle, which they unlock with a personal access card. They drive where they need to and return the car to the location where they picked it up, locking it back up with their card. Members pay an annual or monthly membership fee along with hourly and mileage rates when they use a car.

The 15-year-old organization notified its more than 1,500 members on May 1 that operations would pause on May 19 due to the insurance issue.

Field states Ithaca Carshare did find a risk retention group (RRG) based in Vermont willing to provide coverage for the program. However, state insurance regulators prohibit RRGs from writing auto insurance unless they are domiciled within the state.

“This problem is unique to our state, as federal law explicitly allows RRGs domiciled in one state to write automobile insurance in other states,” Field wrote. “It’s beyond unfortunate that this state regulation prohibits us from securing auto insurance and therefore prevents us from continuing to provide this critical service. We’ve heard from many elderly and disabled members who rely on Ithaca Carshare to pick up prescriptions, get to medical appointments, or run regular errands at times or to places when the public buses don’t run.”

The insurance issue also prevents Ithaca Carshare from working on its goals for the year including electrifying its fleet using grant money from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, expanding its low-income Easy Access program, and working with the city and private businesses to increase electric-vehicle charging opportunities throughout the city, Field said.

 ”Our small, nonprofit, community-focused service aligns with the state’s Climate Act, as well as Gov. [Kathy] Hochul’s priorities to reduce emissions and promote equity in transportation, so it’s been disheartening and disappointing to be met with such a roadblock to innovation,” Field said.