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I-GO bringing solar-charged electric cars to Oak Park

November 9th, 2011

Reports Trib Local’s Jim Jaworski:

“[Oak Park Village's board] approved a deal [Monday] with I-GO and 350 Green, a Los Angeles-based company that installs electric car recharging stations, which will create two solar-powered canopies to recharge vehicles. One will be at in the parking lot of Village Hall, 123 Madison St., and the other will be installed on North Boulevard between Marion Street and Forest Avenue.”

“Each station will have four spots, two for I-GO cars and two for the public. Members of the public can use the stations by signing on for a monthly membership with 350 Green or pay-as-you-go by calling a number listed at the station. Each canopy will have three charges that can replenish a vehicle in three to eight hours and one high-powered charger that can fill a battery in less than an hour.”

Read the full story here »

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I-GO co-sponsors “Revenge of the Electric Car” screening

November 9th, 2011

Doc film director Chris Paine’s 2006 exposé, Who Killed the Electric Car?, was an eye-opener, laying bare U.S. automakers’ resistance to electric-battery-powered vehicles, specifically GM’s EV1 in the mid 1990s. Five years later, Paine is back with a sequel that couldn’t be more timely: Revenge of the Electric Car, which follows four fascinating EV industry personalities in their pursuit of a transformed automotive culture.

I-GO is co-sponsoring a special screening of the film at the Gene Siskel Film Center this Friday, Nov. 11, at 6pm. Co-sponsors include the University of Chicago, Sierra Club’s Illinois Chapter, and Mindful Metropolis. The film will be followed by a panel discussion featuring executive producer Stefano Durdic; James Salle, Assistant Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago; and Jack Darin, Director, Sierra Club Illinois Chapter. Join us, the panelists, and 11th district State Representative Ann Williams before the film at 5 p.m., for a reception with cash bar in the Film Center’s gallery/café.

I-GO is making major strides of its own to bring electric cars to the Chicago area. We will be deploying 36 electric vehicles with solar charging canopies across the metro area. Just this week, we finalized an agreement to build two solar-powered EV charging stations in Oak Park.

As an environmentally focused organized, we think EVs and car sharing are an ideal match and a fantastic way to raise public awareness of the renewable-energy revolution on our doorstep. Come join us at the film screening and learn more!

WATCH THE TRAILER:

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Join us at I-GO’s Chicago Shares Celebration, Dec 1

November 7th, 2011

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Celebrate the Spirit of Sharing with I-GO!

The Merchandise Mart, 15th Floor, Market Square Library Room
Thursday, December 1, 5:30-8pm

222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago

Hobnob with fellow members and Chicago’s leading sharing institutions at I-GO’s “Chicago Shares Celebration!”

Amid festive entertainment, get a sneak peek of I-GO’s exciting plans for 2012, our 10th anniversary! New to the party this year, a Sharing Fair provides you with the opportunity to expand your knowledge of the many facets of Chicago’s emerging sharing economy.

Enjoy savory eats, festive drinks, and amazing raffle prizes. As always, attendees will receive FREE entry to the Mart’s One of a Kind Show and Sale.

Bring your friends, family, and colleagues who want to join I-GO: The first 10 people to join at the party pay only a $25 application fee ($50 savings) and receive a bonus, $50 of driving credits!

Join us directly after the event at Bull & Bear for the Official After Party and enjoy one complimentary drink upon arrival!

Cost to Attend:
Free for I-GO Members
$5 – Friends, Family, Colleagues of I-GO Members; and Constituents of Sharing Fair Participants
$10 – General Admission
Pre-Registration Requested. Register Now.

Happy holidays from the I-GO Team !

Thank you to Merchandise Mart Properties, Sierra Nevada, Eli’s Cheesecake, Joffrey Ballet, Hotel Allegro, Bull & Bear, and Christina Frances Photography for their generous contributions.

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Directions to the Merchandise Mart:

By CTA Train
Brown Line to Merchandise Mart station
Blue, Orange, Pink, Green lines to Clark/Lake station
Red Line to Lake or Grand stations

By CTA Bus
#65 Grand, #22 Clark, #125 Water Tower Express, #156 LaSalle and many other downtown bus routes

By Metra
Ogilvie Transportation Center and Union Station are less than a mile from the Mart.

For detailed travel information: www.transitchicago.com (CTA) and www.goroo.com (RTA)

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Save the date for the I-GO member holiday party!

November 1st, 2011

We know how busy everyone’s lives get around the holidays, so we’re giving you advance notice for an exciting event we are planning. Got your calendar out? Here are the details:

I-GO’s Chicago Shares Celebration
Thurs, Dec 1, 5:30-8:30pm
Merchandise Mart, 15th Floor

We’ll have savory food and drinks, music, raffle prizes, and Chicago’s very first “Sharing Fair” where you can expand your knowledge of the many facets of Chicago’s emerging sharing economy.

Guests will also receive free tickets to the Mart’s One of a Kind Show & Sale, featuring inspired gifts by more than 600 artists and artisans from all over North America.

It’s sure to be a great time, so don’t miss out! I-GO members: Look for a formal invite very soon.

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I-GO’s San Fran sister org aims high for 2020

October 25th, 2011

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City CarShare, I-GO’s nonprofit carshare counterpart in San Francisco and the East Bay, recently announced an ambitious “20,000 by 2020″ goal. Our Bay-area compatriots plan to take 20,000 more cars off the road by 2020. That stat sounds grand, but it’s based on research that every carshare vehicle replaces 15 owned vehicles, and carshare org members reduced their driving by half. Their announcement event was attended by Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee, and other city and state officials.

Of course, car sharing folks also save thousands on transportation costs, and City CarShare also aims to save its members an additional $1 billion over the cost of car ownership by the year 2020.

More exciting yet, our friends — with whom I-GO has a longstanding roaming agreement that lets our members skip the membership signup fees — plan to achieve a fleet mix of 50% electric-based or alternative-fuel vehicles by 2015.

We’re on the same page here: I-GO is making major progress on plans to deploy 36 electric vehicles with solar charging canopies across the Chicagoland area.

If you’re headed to San Francisco any time soon, we encourage you to get around town with our progressive carshare pals at City CarShare!

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Medill Reports covers I-GO/CTA smartcard program

October 21st, 2011

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“I-GO sees itself as a form of public transportation that provides the last mile solution for the CTA.” That’s the good word from reporter John Skelly, Jr., writing about I-GO’s partnership with the CTA for Northwestern University’s Medill Reports.

The article describes the motivating factors behind the 2008 development of the Chicago Card Plus/I-GO Card, a joint smartcard offered by I-GO that lets its members access both I-GO vehicles and CTA trains and buses. Today, reports Skelly, there are about 1,800 cards in circulation. The result: cost savings across transportation modes and a progressive re-thinking of how public transit can fit within a mixture of services to better meet the needs of a metropolitan population.

“You could have the most extensive transit system in the world but every rail line has to have an end. If you have I-GO cars at a station, people can take a car,” says I-GO’s Business Development Manager, Richard Kosmacher, who’s quoted in the article along with other sources who provide a well-rounded POV on the benefits of I-GO.

READ THE ARTICLE »

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Roamin’ empire

October 14th, 2011

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Traveling anytime soon? Rather carshare than rent on your trip? You’ll be happy to hear that I-GO belongs to the CarSharing Association, an international network of regional carshare providers dedicated to environmentally and socially responsible transportation. There are fifteen member orgs on board now, and seven more are joining soon.

I-GO has roaming agreements in place with these fine folks. Call us at least a week prior to your trip, and we’ll contact our car-sharing partners on your behalf. In most cases, we’ll be able to fast-track an account for you and arrange access to the service’s cars without you having to deal with the standard membership application process and fees.

Got a car-sharing colleague or friend visiting Chicago from one of these cities? Vice versa for them. Just have them email I-GO Member Services or call (773) 278-4446 and we’ll arrange an I-GO Access Tag (electronic key fob) for them.

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Bus stop bling

October 10th, 2011

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I-GO has always been a huge supporter of public transit. We even have a joint smartcard with the CTA that gets you into I-GO cars and CTA trains and buses. We like to think of I-GO and CTA as two parts of an integrated, multimodal, sustainable system.

So we’re psyched to see CTA installing LED screens for its awesome Bus Tracker app at 400 bus shelters around town. The first 150 will be installed by March 2012. You can see where they’re located on this map. Not only will the GPS-enabled system inform you when the next bus is arriving, it will tell you audibly at the push of a button — a super cool, mod feature for the visually impaired.

Lots of these sweet screens are close to I-GO car locations, too, making it even easier to transfer from a car-sharing set of wheels to your favorite bus.

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Faces of I-GO: CUMALI

October 8th, 2011

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Chicago Urban Ministries And Life Interventions (CUMALI) is a nonprofit organization that, in the words of CUMALI’s Rachel Otto, “works to empower the homeless in urban Chicago by engaging with the homeless where they live, providing necessary services, and creating a sense of community support without judgment or prerequisite. We believe that no one in Chicago should go without the human necessities that most take for granted. We make several stops throughout Lower Wacker Drive, Union Station and Clark/Division every Monday night and deliver sandwiches, beverages, socks, clothing, blankets, and a message of friendship and support.”

CUMALI, which has been active as an organization since 2009, is “very pleased and proud” to be associated with I-GO Car Sharing. They use I-GO cars as a backup mode of transportation when their primary driver is unavailable, and hope to rely on I-GO vehicles more regularly in the future. “We have three active I-GO drivers registered for our organization and have had a great experience making the reservations and using the cars,” Otto says. “It’s simple to do and I-GO has superb customer service. Thank you, I-GO, for helping us accomplish our mission!”

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Fleet update: Ukrainian Village

September 29th, 2011

2012 gray Nissan Versa hatchbackNeed another reason to get around with I-GO? Here’s one: We’ve added a new car in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood.

It’s a 2012 gray Nissan Versa hatchback located at 1003 N. Leavitt St.

Just log in with your Member ID number at www.igocars.org to reserve it. You can quickly find it in our online reservation system by entering 4623 in the Vehicle ID search field.

We hope this provides another helpful, convenient option for you.

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