The City of Saint Paul and Mayor Kaohly Her announced a firm commitment to save Evie and HOURCAR carshare services in the Twin Cities. The city and Mayor Her plan to increase their financial commitment to $300,000 to support the service, and are leading efforts to find a bridge operator for the program.
With new EV chargers installed this month on Saint Paul’s east side neighborhoods, city and state leaders made it clear that Saint Paul is not walking away from carshare or its climate, affordability, and multi-modal transportation commitments. Thank you to Mayor Her, Deputy Mayor Stumo-Langer, Saint Paul City Council, and city staff for this important step toward sustaining the critical program.
It’s time for other agencies to follow Saint Paul’s lead to restore carshare.
On October 15, HOURCAR and its all-electric Evie service shut down after 20 years, citing financial difficulties and funding changes. Thousands of Twin Cities residents relied on them to reach medical appointments, groceries, family, and other places that are hard to get to without a car. Of those users, 42% are people of color and 46% are low-income.
The City of Saint Paul has been heavily involved behind the scenes, driving efforts to stabilize carshare until a more sustainable long-term solution can be developed. The city has led investment in carshare across the Twin Cities since the program’s inception.
Saint Paul has already acted to protect the public’s investment in the short term, dispatching city staff to ensure vehicles made it to a secure lot for storage. Within a week of HOURCAR’s announcement, staff from several departments recovered and secured nearly 200 vehicles for when they’re ready to return to service.
Mayor Her’s proposed 2027 budget already included $140,000 for Evie Carshare and expanding the EV Spot Network. Through Public Works, the city has identified an additional $160,000, bringing the city’s commitment to $300,000. Mayor Her credited Directors Barber and Harney with supporting that work.
The City of Saint Paul is seeking a new carshare operator. In the coming days, the city will issue a request for information, followed by a formal request for proposals to select an experienced bridge operator.
The first priority is short-term stability, so people who rely on the service can keep reaching family, daily needs, and opportunities. This will keep the service running while we work toward a long-term, funded, sustainable, and scalable program.
Saint Paul is the first to commit additional funding, but carshare serves the whole region. Noah Velick, an advocate with Neighbors for Community Carshare, shared stories of members who use it to travel to the suburbs, across the Twin Cities, and beyond to see family and friends and to access health care. For our own work, Our Streets employees rely on HOURCAR to travel as far as Duluth for our organizers to engage community members on transportation issues.
Only a third of carshare trips happen in Saint Paul and Ramsey County. The other two-thirds are in Minneapolis and Hennepin County. Those jurisdictions and the Met Council need to listen to residents and commit to supporting an expanded carshare program.
With more funding and public support, city leaders, Our Streets, Neighbors for Community Carshare, and community members believe the program can run again, scale sustainably, and serve the people and families who depend on it.
This effort starts with bridge funding from other agencies, including the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, and the Metropolitan Council.
Carshare and bikeshare are natural extensions of public transit, especially for people who can least afford a car. The Met Council already runs similar services, including the on-demand Metro Micro and Metro Mobility for riders with disabilities. That makes it a logical home for these services. Under the Met Council, carshare and bikeshare could benefit from lower insurance costs, better transit connections, and the ability to grow cost-effectively.
Reviving carshare and bikeshare into a scalable, sustainable service won’t be simple, but HOURCAR, Evie, and Nice Ride have taught us that program design and stable funding will determine whether these services can last and reach more people. We are working with former staff to document lessons learned and incorporate them in future policy.
We’re also looking to cities across the country for policy models for carshare and public bikeshare. Our Streets is working with Rep. Katie Jones (DFL, 61A), Senator D.Scott Dibble, and Rep. Meg Luger-Nikolai to lay the groundwork for a more sustainable model in the future. Our Streets will keep working with decision-makers, stakeholders, and carshare users to find the best path forward.
Take Action
Saint Paul has shown what stepping up looks like. Other decision-makers need to hear from you. Tell your Minneapolis City Councilmembers, Hennepin County commissioners, state legislators, and Met Council officials how carshare helped you get around, and ask them to commit to steady public funding to bring it back. A short email or phone call telling your story makes a real difference.