U-Car first-year stats

Portland has had a car-sharing program for approximately one year. While experts are still analyzing the numbers and what they mean for U-Car Share in Maine, here's some raw data, brought to you courtesy of Excel spreadsheets (I remember how to find averages! thanks college!) and transportation advocate/city councilor Kevin Donoghue:

• There were 695 total transactions; with 4825 hours reserved.
• The average reservation was 2.79 hours.
• More transactions took place at the Elm Street location (65 percent) than at the Commercial Street one (35 percent).
• The most popular months were July and December. 
• The most popular time of day to reserve a car was 12 pm, followed closely by 10 and 9 am. Saturday was the most popular day for reservations. 
  
• The average age of members/vehicle users is 44; the youngest member is 21 and the oldest is 70. 

The most important info, though, is that U-Car Share in Portland reached 14 percent utilization (the percent of available hours used) in its first year. The goal is 40 percent -- with each vehicle being used for about 10 hours per day. Single-occupancy-vehicle shunners will have to figure out how to up that percentage.