Our members’ driving habits are as individual as they are, but our studies indicate running errands, grocery shopping, and visiting friends and family in the suburbs are the most common uses of an I-GO vehicle. Whatever your particular needs may be, and regardless of whether you drive once a month or every day, we have a driving plan that makes sense for you.X

If you are between the ages of 21 and 81 with a valid driver’s license and at least three years of driving experience with no serious moving violations, chances are you are eligible to become an I-GO member. If you’re between the ages of 18 and 20, you can apply if you have at least two years’ driving experience and your driving record is free of violations and accidents. University and college students can also take advantage of a discounted sign-up fee for the first year of membership. See our eligibility requirements or call our Member Services department at (773) 278-4446 with any questions concerning I-GO membership.X

When applying, you will need to show proof of three years of driving experience. (Eligible applicants ages 18-20 need to show proof of at least two years of driving experience.) If your current license was issued less than three years ago, we’ll also need your previous driver’s license information. If you’re having trouble tracking that down, try checking old auto insurance forms or contacting your insurance agent, a previous employer, or the Department of Motor Vehicles office where the license was issued.X

There are three ways to reserve an I-GO car: through our online reservations system; by calling our Member Services call center at (773) 278-4446; or by using our mobile reservations site configured for iPhone, BlackBerry, and other web-enabled mobile devices.

To use our online reservations system:

1. Log in on our web site with your member number and password.
2. Under “Find a Vehicle,” select your start and end times.
3. Select your preferred location/address. You may add to and manage your locations via this function.
4. Select a vehicle class or model. You may also select multiple classes and models.
5. Select any preferred amenities if desired. These include cars with bike racks, auxiliary inputs for MP3 players such as iPods, plug-in hybrid cars, vehicles with weekday or weekend all-day-rate options, and vehicles equipped with I-PASS transponders for Illinois Tollway use.
6. Click the green Search button.
7. Click either the “List of Cars” tab or “Location Map” tab to review the availability of cars meeting your search criteria.

Additionally, you can click on “New Reservations” and “Existing Reservations” on the main menu bar to manage new reservations and existing reservations and review past reservations going back several months.

To use our smart phone reservations site:
To access I-GO’s mobile reservations site on your iPhone, BlackBerry, or other web-enabled mobile device, key this web address into your browser and bookmark it for future reference:

http://reservations.igocars.org/mobile

To use our Member Services call center:
Our call center is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to assist you with reservations and other questions. Simply call (773) 278-4446. Please keep in mind that during regular business hours (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm) and peak usage hours (Mon-Fri 5pm-8pm and weekends) we receive a heavy volume of calls and it’s usually faster and more efficient to make a reservation online.
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It’s not an app that you download on iTunes, but it works wonderfully well when you’re on the go and want to reserve an I-GO car. I-GO has a web site customized for smart phones and web-enabled mobile devices.

To access it, type this URL into your browser and bookmark it to create an icon on your home screen:
http://reservations.igocars.org/mobile

The mobile site is a distilled, intuitive, and very legible version of our online reservation system. Search for cars by date and time, location preference, vehicle type, and amenities just as you would on your desktop computer. You can also use it to extend a reservation—provided another member hasn’t already booked that time.

Our mobile site also makes the Chicago Card Plus/I-GO Card—I-GO’s joint smartcard initiative with CTA—that much more convenient. Reserve an I-GO car within seconds that’s located at or near an upcoming stop on a CTA rail line or bus route.

Please note: There is a one-time $2.99 charge the first time you use the mobile site to make, extend, cancel, or release a reservation. This will help us offset the cost of maintaining and adding future enhancements to this special feature. The fee will appear on your next month’s invoice, and all further use of the mobile site is entirely free.
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Simply log in to the reservation system on our web site with your member number and password. (The log-in box is located in the top right corner of every page.) Click on “My Account” in the main menu bar. In this section you can update your contact and payment info, change your password, make changes to your rate plan, select your notification preferences, check your account balance and past monthly invoices, manage your car location search preferences, and even sync reservation notifications with your Google Calendar. Don’t forget to click the “Save Changes” button after updating information.X

We encourage you to use the feedback option located in your online account to report minor problems or make suggestions. After you log in, simply click on “Feedback” in the main menu bar. In this section, you can report a malfunctioning fuel card, lost and found, lost smart card, ticket, vehicle cleanliness, and minor scrapes and cosmetic damage, and also give us feedback and suggestions. Our Member Services staff constantly checks these reports, and we prefer that you file it online rather than call it in when we’re busy helping members with reservations and problems that require immediate attention.

For serious problems affecting car safety—such as a flat tire, broken window, or weak brakes—by all means please call Member Services immediately at (773) 278-4446 to report the situation. We will work closely with our Fleet Department to resolve the problem as quickly as possible, and get you into another nearby available car.X

We rely on email for billing-related updates, so please ensure that your correct email address is recorded in your online account at all times. For important news affecting most or all of our members, we also post notifications on the reservations site. These will appear when you first log in can be accessed by clicking on “Messages” in the main menu bar. To hide the message, simply click on “New Reservations” or another link in the menu bar.

We also provide service updates, member tips, new car locations, special promotions and discounts, and a whole lot more via our blog and monthly e-newsletter. And we’re very active on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. We encourage you to stay up-to-date on all I-GO goings-on through all these online forums.
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No. I-GO members must pick up and return the car they’ve reserved to its original location at the end of each trip. Each vehicle’s in-car technology matches the reservation to the location, and it would be very difficult to manage final destinations so the next member could easily locate the vehicle.X

Not without a carrier. You must clean up after them. Many people are highly allergic to pet hair, and nobody wants to get in a car with dog or cat hair all over the seats—an avoidable nuisance that can also disrupt our cleaning crew’s tight schedule by requiring immediate treatment. For these reasons, we require that pets must travel in pet carriers. The fee for having a pet in an I-GO car without a pet carrier is $100.X

Absolutely not. Please remember, car sharing requires communal responsibility and mutual respect to work well for everybody. Our cars are reserved on an around-the-clock, hourly basis, and nobody wants to get into a vehicle that’s saturated with cigarette smoke and odor. The fee for smoking in an I-GO vehicle is $100.X

Yes. I-GO uses an environmentally focused cleaning service that cleans every vehicle in our metro-wide fleet on a regular basis (a minimum of once every two weeks). But all members are responsible for leaving the car clean. So wipe up any spills, sweep out any debris, and do not leave any trash behind. If you are transporting a pet in a carrier, don’t forget to check for pet hair that may have gotten on the seat.

Many members use the same vehicle repeatedly, so please treat it like you would your own. If you leave the vehicle so dirty the next member can’t use it, you’ll be charged an emergency vehicle cleaning fee of $100 plus costs. Conversely, if the vehicle you’ve reserved is too dirty to drive, call us immediately and we’ll put you in another one—reimbursing you for cab fare, if necessary, to get you there on time. The previous member may be fined, and we will schedule an emergency cleaning. X

Yes. If the gas gauge drops to 1/4 of a tank while you are driving, it is your responsibility to fill the tank. Please use regular unleaded (87 octane) fuel, do not “top off,” and only fill the tank if it is at 1/4 tank or less. Do not refuel with diesel fuel, which causes mechanical problems to our vehicles; we will pass the expensive repair costs on to you. It’s a good idea to allow a few extra minutes for refueling just in case. You do not have to pay for gas. To refuel, use the fuel card docked in the key pad console located in the glove box of each vehicle—the same device that also houses the ignition key and fob you retrieve at the start of your trip. You can use the fuel card at any gas station.

When you need to refill the tank, turn the car off, open the glove box, and pull out the keypad console. When you remove the card from its slot the screen will display a Driver ID number that you’ll need to enter on the gas pump when prompted. The number only stays illuminated for five seconds, but if you need to see it a second time, simply insert, start the engine again, turn the car off (leaving the key in the ignition), and remove the card again while looking at the screen. You’ll also need to enter the odometer reading on the gas pump. After you have used the fuel card, return it to the slot in the keypad device and resume your trip.

If the fuel card is missing, please contact us immediately. (If you don’t have a phone handy, the keypad doubles as one: Dial 1 to connect to a Member Services representative. The microphone is located on the driver side at the top of the windshield. If you are facing straight ahead, the microphone should pick you up just fine. The microphone is not enabled unless you call us or 911. You’ll hear the other person on the line through the dashboard speakers.)

If a missing fuel card results in you having to use your own money to refuel the vehicle, please send us the receipt with your member number and we will reimburse your account.X

Do not manually lock the doors at the end of your trip when you return the car. You must use your I-GO smart card to lock the doors at the end of your trip by holding it over the card reader on the windshield. If the light on the card reader does not return to red, please call us at (773) 278-4446 and we will remotely assist you.

We often get calls from members who’ve replaced the key back in the glove box keypad console, but then manually locked the doors only to discover they left something in the car. That can cause problems. Manually locking the doors at the end of your I-GO trip confuses the in-car computer, which is waiting for the member to lock the doors by holding their smart card over the windshield reader. If we need to send a signal to the car to remotely unlock it, that computer wonders why we’d do so, since, as far as it knows, the car is still locked.

This can also cause a problem for the next member accessing the vehicle. When they hold their card over the reader, intending to start their trip, this actually ends the previous member’s trip and the doors may remain locked. Of course, you can simply wait a moment and swipe in again to unlock the doors and start your trip. But it’s a minor glitch we’d like to clarify so that your trip goes as pleasantly as possible.

In any event, you can always call I-GO Member Services at (773) 278-4446 for assistance.X

You bet. Please download our GO Guide, which summarizes the vehicle-access procedure and includes a handy check list of other essential rules. You’ll also find the GO Guide in each of our cars.X

Yes. Members can reserve cars in 1/2 hour increments.X

Members can reserve cars up to the minute of the reservation and as far in advance as one year. If you want to reserve a car on the weekend or from 5pm to 8pm Monday to Friday, it’s a good idea to plan ahead a bit and not wait until until the last minute, since these are our peak usage hours.X

You may add additional drivers to your account. Please understand, though, that you will be held responsible for any costs incurred by that member.

Each additional driver will first need to become an I-GO member, so we can assign him or her their own member number and smart card. They need to include your member account number on the online application form. All added drivers are on the same rate plan that the account holder has chosen. If it’s a plan with a monthly fee, the relevant monthly fee is charged for each driver. The added drivers cannot apply for the Chicago Card Plus/I-GO card.

You will receive an email notification when someone completes these steps. No one can be added to your account until you approve them. If, at any time, you wish to remove another member from your account, the request must be made in writing. Mail your request to us at:

I-GO Member Services
2125 W North Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
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Yes, we do. Members receive $20 in driving credit for each new member they refer. Make sure the applicant you refer cites you by name and member account number on their application form so that we can add the credit to your account.
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Please do. I-GO is a great, cost-saving transportation solution for many companies. We offer three affordable business rate plans for companies, and we’d be happy to answer any questions your employer may have about how I-GO can meet their needs. Please contact Anjuli Seth, I-GO’s Corporate Relations Manager, to learn more.
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Climb on board. I-GO participates year-round in outreach events throughout the Chicago area. We often depend on volunteers to help get the word out on car sharing and our goals to reduce car ownership, our collective carbon footprint, and congestion in our communities. Check our upcoming events calendar and become a fan of our Facebook page for volunteer opportunities, and please contact Lauren Hugel to join our volunteer network. You’ll benefit yourself: I-GO members earn one hour in driving credit for every hour they volunteer.
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If you’ve been licensed outside the United States in the past three years, you must obtain your driving record and submit it to our Member Services department for processing prior to applying for membership. Please see our eligibility requirements for international drivers.
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You can change your rate plan by emailing us at planchange@igocars.org. Rate plan changes made before 5pm on the last day of the month will go into effect in the following month. If you’re switching to GO Budget or GO Anytime, please keep in mind that they require a minimum six-month monthly fee commitment once initiated.X

Please email us at cancel@igocars.org. If you decide not to renew at the end of one year of membership, you must notify us by email at cancel@igocars.org more than one month prior to your annual renewal date.

If you’re on the GO Budget or GO Anytime plans, please keep in mind that they require a minimum six-month monthly fee commitment, even if you choose to cancel your membership before that time period ends.
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You do not need to provide your own I-PASS. We’ve got you covered. All I-GO vehicles are registered with the Illinois Tollway. Here is some important information that every member should be aware of:

1. You should not receive a tollway violation unless there is some sort of error, in which case we will resolve the issue directly with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.
2. The I-PASS transponders we use are not the common white box mounted on the interior of the front windshield of a vehicle. So don’t worry if you don’t see it there.
3. All I-GO vehicles can use the high-speed automatic toll lane.
4. All toll trips and costs will be automatically synched with member invoices.
5. Transponders will eliminate instances when charges show up on your billing invoice a month later. This lag time in data processing is common with the Tollway Authority’s “V-Tolling” system, in which license plates are scanned by cameras.
6. Please disregard any tollway “pay online” slips that may have been left in a vehicle, as well as those velcro mounting strips on the windshield previously used for I-PASS transponders. We will be replacing those with decals informing members that the vehicle they are driving is equipped with an I-PASS.
7. Members will not be able to use their personal I-PASS, but will pay an I-PASS rate. I-GO charges a service fee of $0.10 per toll for processing on top of the toll cost.

While I-GO members can not use their own I-PASS, we feel this is a greater convenience. You’ll avoid the hassle of registering and unregistering your I-PASS with each vehicle on a trip-by-trip basis just to save a few cents. This method is more time-efficient for everybody, since the charges will automatically appear on monthly invoices.X