Must be something in the air. We’re revamping our site, and just noticed that so, too, has Metra. If you were familiar with their old one, man, are you gonna love Metra’s new, improved version. Sooo much better.
Posts Tagged ‘i-go car sharing’
Metra updates its website too
Friday, November 6th, 2009I-GO web site gets makeover, promotes new discount cars
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009You may have noticed our web site looks a lot different today. That’s because we’ve spent a lot of time reorganizing it, editing and updating content, and tweaking the design a bit here and there. We’re not done with it just yet, but we think it’s an improvment, and we hope our members and visitors to our site agree.
The member log-in is now located in the upper right corner of every page on the site, including, of course, the home page.
The News page on the site now features our blog, media coverage, and various social media interaction (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Vimeo). We’ve also add a new business membership online application program that lets companies and their employees sign up directly on our site. (Formerly, this was a person-to-person offline process.)
And check out our new Discount Cars and Damage Fee Waiver programs, too.
The Discount Cars program is a real bargain: $1 off an array of cars we designate at the beginning of every month. Car sharing is all about saving you money, and we hope this benefits your bank account even more.
Hope that you like the site’s new look, and it’s easier to find what you’re looking for.
Mayor Daley gets a charge of out I-GO
Monday, October 12th, 2009On Saturday, Oct. 10, I-GO Car Sharing was prominently featured in a high-profile press conference and exhibition hosted by Magellan Development Group at its new, high-profile Aqua tower in Chicago’s Lakeshore East community. The Aqua, an 82-story mixed-use structure designed by architect Jeanne Gang with many environmentally beneficial elements, includes the Midwest’s first electric vehicle charging station open to the public.
Mayor Richard Daley participated in the charging station demonstration of a plug-in electric Prius provided by I-GO. The new station adds to the progressive efforts of newly created Carbon Day Automotives, a Chicago firm employing the Coulomb Technologies ChargePoint Network of electric charging stations. A new infrastructure for electric electric vehicles is being created to deal with the fact that virtually every auto manufacturer has announced plans to produce plug-in vehicles in the next one to three years in response to concerns over high gas prices, oil dependence, and the impact of climate change on the environment.
The six-charger station at Aqua will accommodate up to 24 plug-in vehicles. To access it, and others in the ChargePoint/Carbon Day Automotive network, drivers of plug-in vehicles will be required to subscribe to a plan that will provide convenient and affordable access to all public charging stations.
All plug-in stations are connected by computer network to provide drivers with best access to outlets. Drivers can access locations based on the navigation system in their vehicles, computers, telephones, or smartphones. The system no only identifies the closest stations but tells subscribers which are idle and which are occupied.
The event was significant for another reason as well. It provides an impressive prototype for the kind of sustainable-energy infrastructure Chicago will be building with funds awarded via the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2009 Clean Cities Petroleum Reduction Technologies grant program. Recently, Mayor Daley announced, Chicago was the recipient of $15 million in stimulus funding allocated toward this purpose. I-GO is among the partners committed to transforming Chicago’s sustainable transportation, along with ComEd, Carbon Day, Magellan, the City of Chicago’s Department of the Environment, and Yellow Cab, all of whom also took part in the Aqua event.
I-GO has two plug-in electric vehicles in its metro-wide fleet, which is entirely comprised of highly fuel-efficient, low-emission vehicles. Hybrid gas-electric vehicles account for nearly half of the organization’s fleet. The non-profit plans to add many more plug-ins in the near future and work in tandem with the imminent solar-panel-powered electric charging station network to help lead the way toward greener mobility in the Chicago area.
This video includes both the press conference proceedings as well as interviews with I-GO CEO Sharon Feigon and Carbon Day Automotive’s business development manager, Brian Levin, recorded earlier at the latter org’s Carbon Day Festival in Lincoln Park on Sept. 15.
I-GO green-cleaning entrepreneur on Chicago Tonight
Friday, October 2nd, 2009
Tanya Killian, the dynamic entrepreneur behind the local green-friendly cleaning service I-GO uses, was featured on Chicago Tonight yesterday in a segment on microcredit loans. Killian’s company, WashMe-EnviGreen, handles our entire fleet. I-GO makes a cameo appearance. If microcredit can help such hard-working, passionate folks like Tanya, we think it’s a concept worth extending and building upon.
Congrats, Tanya!
Northwestern U: I-GO’s got class
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
Wildcats rules. Especially when they write about us.
Evolution of the wheel, New Yorker-style
Thursday, September 24th, 2009Best transportation-themed magazine cover ever?
I-GO CEO Sharon Feigon shares vision for car sharing
Monday, September 21st, 2009Curious to hear how the I-GO Car Sharing braintrust views car sharing? The Great Lakes Urban Exchange—an org dedicated to the revitalization of the Great Lakes region through positive social change and environmental progress—recently interviewed I-GO’s CEO Sharon Feigon and included the discussion as a podcast in a blog post.
Sharon talks about the impetus for I-GO, its mission to reduce car ownership and greenhouse gas emissions, partner on sustainable transportation for the benefit of all communities, and much more.
You won’t find a Beemer in I-GO’s fleet. But you will find a bona fide, earnest desire to improve our world for the better.
Blue Planet Green Living profiles I-GO
Monday, September 14th, 2009
We love all press coverage, but most articles and posts on I-GO don’t go the distance.
This one does. It really does a nice job hitting on all aspects of our org, from the member benefits to our green tech initiatives.
Blue Planet Green Living is an interesting green-biz site worth checking out. Excerpted from their bio page:
We’re on a quest to find organic, green, and natural products as well as services that support a healthy environment. As BPGL grows, we’ll be building a road map to guide you through the maze of websites and introduce you to earth-friendly businesses and people that we believe in. Our focus is helping what we call ecopreneurs, the folks who launch start-up companies that are focused on helping the planet. We also like to showcase the undiscovered (or little-known) individuals or families who are trying to help in their own unique ways. But, big or small, we’ll lend our support to anyone who is working to sustain the earth, keeping it blue and green (and every lovely color in between), just like it’s supposed to be.
We heartily second that notion.
Labor Day in Chicago
Monday, September 7th, 2009
While most of us are happy to have the day off for Labor Day, it’s a bit bittersweet- seeing as Labor Day signals the end to summer. But don’t fret! Instead, grab an I-GO car and jet off to one of the Chicago Tribune’s many ideas for Labor Day fun:
African Festival of the Arts: Experience African and African-American culture through music, fine arts and cuisine at this annual festival. 10 a.m.-10 p.m. in Washington Park, 51st Street and Cottage Grove Avenue. $10-$15, $5 for seniors and children younger than 12; 773-955-2787, africanfestivalchicago.org
Bike Obama tour: See the sights President Barack Obama frequented in the Chicago area, including his Hyde Park neighborhood. The two-hour, 6-mile bike tour begins at 10 a.m. at the Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. $32, $18 for children younger than 12 (bike and helmet available). An extended Stimulus Package tour is 22 miles in four hours (departs at 9 a.m., $43) and includes the Museum Campus and Grant Park. A 10 percent discount is offered for online reservations, R.S.V.P. required; 312-915-0995, bobbysbikehike.com
Summer Tropical Flower Show: Maybe your garden didn’t turn out as planned (rain is good, no?), but this display of tropical plants, including begonias and hibiscus, should brighten your day. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at Lincoln Park Conservatory, 2391 N. Stockton Drive. Free; 312-742-7736; and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave. Free; 312-746-5100
Dinosaurs Alive!: A display of animatronic dinosaurs — including a 60-foot-long and 30-foot-high replica of the Ruyang Yellow River dinosaur — at Brookfield Zoo has got the awesomeness. And there are all the other wonderful animal habitats to check out too. 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. at Brookfield Zoo, 3300 Golf Rd., Brookfield. $17, $11 for seniors and children ages 3-11 (includes regular zoo admission), $8 for parking; 708-485-0263, czs.org
The Last Fling: Here’s how to send summer off with a bang: a spaghetti-eating contest, Big Wheel races, car show, parade and more. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at Naperville Riverwalk, 100 W. Jackson Ave., Naperville. Free (main stage free Monday); 630-961-4143, lastfling.org
Bristol Renaissance Faire: It’s the last chance to get all medieval, as Bristol closes its season with a juggling/comedy/fire show, street theater and more. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at Bristol Renaissance Faire, 12550 120th Ave., Kenosha, Wis. $16.95, $7.50 for children 5-12, children younger than 5 free; 847-395-7773, renfair.com
Arlington Park: A day of thoroughbred racing will include a Pucker Up Stakes for 3-year-old fillies and a Stars and Stripes handicap for older horses. There’s more than racing going on, with The Brave performing on the Miller Lite Band Stage. Gates open at 11:15 a.m. at Arlington Park, 2200 W. Euclid, Arlington Heights. $6-$7 general admission, children younger than 17 free when accompanied by an adult; 847-385-7427, arlingtonpark.com
Chicago Premium Outlets: Kids — according to kids — can never have enough back-to-school clothes. And if you’re looking for outfits for the ones who have grown a size over the summer, already-discounted merchandise at the 120 outlet stores will have additional reductions of 25 percent to 65 percent. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. at Chicago Premium Outlets, 1650 Premium Outlets Blvd., Aurora; 630-585-2200, premiumoutlets.com
I-GO nominated in Chicago Innovation Awards
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
I-GO Car Sharing, for the second consecutive year, has been nominated in the annual Chicago Innovation Awards.
Want the lowdown on the accolade? From their site:
Established in 2002, the Chicago Innovation Awards shine a bright light on the creative spirit of Chicago by focusing attention on the most significant new products and services introduced in the region. The ten winners each year are innovations that uniquely fill unmet needs, spark a competitive response in the marketplace, exceed market expectations, achieve financial success, and improve people’s lives. They emerge from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Most importantly, the Chicago Innovation Awards remind is that innovation is thriving in America’s heartland.
There are 75 nominees covering a wide array of innovators—big and small, public and private. Sifting through the list is an eye-opener: It’s encouraging to see how many enterprising innovators are on the cusp of great ideas in Chicago. Eat your tech-nerd heart out, Silicon Valley.
Best of all: You can vote for I-GO to win! Not that we’d twist your arm on the way to the virtual ballot box. But, c’mon, our particular take on car sharing—partnering with mass transit; extending alternative, sustainable transportation to ALL neighborhoods; only using low-emission, fuel-efficient vehicles (including dozens of hybrids and two bona fide plug-ins)—is worth a spot atop the podium, eh?
