An electric car sharing service, the first of its kind in the U.S., launched in Indianapolis five months ago, an idea a Ball State professor said would be good for Ball State and Muncie.
Blue Indy allows users to pick the car up in one location and drop it off in another. The cars are electric, which means they must be plugged in and charged in order to work.
Payment for the service varies on the customer’s choice. With the full-year package, users pay $9.99 per month. On the first use, the cost is $4 for the first 20 minutes and 20 cents per minute afterward. Monthly, weekly and one-day memberships are available as well.
Scott Truex, associate professor of the urban planning department, said Ball State definitely has the ability to implement a program like Blue Indy.
“The great thing about electric vehicles is they only use energy when they’re running,” Truex said. “When they’re stopped at a stop light or anywhere else, they’re not burning energy.”
Terry Whitt Bailey, director of community development in Muncie, said a service like Blue Indy would be beneficial to the area. Whitt Bailey said there have been conversations about the topic at the university.
“Anything that is going to assist people in getting around town would be a good idea,” Whitt Bailey said.
Kyn-ee Graham, a freshman telecommunications major, said she wasn’t sure if the service would be useful for students.
“A lot of students have their own cars or are commuter students,” Graham said. “Everything we need is within a good distance.”
Truex said having the service would help students with transportation costs.
“It would be very cost effective, and it would enable them to be able to have a car without the burden of car payments and all the other things that are a part of car ownership,” Truex said. “That can free them up for more books to buy.”
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