Burlington, VT - The Campus Area Transportation Management Association (CATMA) is pleased to announce on behalf of its academic members, UVM and Champlain College, an exciting new benefit for their full-time students, faculty and staff: a subsidized CarShare Vermont membership. Under this new agreement between CATMA and CarShare Vermont, UVM and Champlain are generously underwriting the $150 CarShare Vermont annual membership fee to encourage more students, faculty, and staff to utilize car-sharing and alternate modes of travel.

CATMA, UVM and Champlain College were early partners of CarShare Vermont. Since the local nonprofit launched in late 2008, these organizations have provided significant financial support to make the car-sharing service available to their affiliates, as well premium parking spaces for CarShare Vermont vehicles on their campuses. UVM and Champlain affiliates currently make up about 25% of CarShare Vermont's membership; the goal of this new initiative is to triple this number in 2012.

"CATMA is pleased to have entered into a new agreement with CarShare Vermont on behalf of our academic members" says Bob Penniman, Executive Director at CATMA. "In addition to the suite of transportation demand programs CATMA offers, the CarShare Vermont service is an ideal complementary program."

Car-sharing is a mobility service that allows people and organizations to conveniently share a network of vehicles for short-term use. Numerous studies show that car-sharing members drive substantially less than car owners, lowering their emissions and fuel consumption in the process. It is estimated that each shared car removes ten from the road as car-share members opt to own fewer vehicles. CarShare Vermont's 540 members include one-car households, car-free individuals and families, businesses of all sizes, and college students.

"CarShare Vermont is recognized as a leader in small city car-sharing, and our success would not be possible without our valuable partnership with CATMA, UVM and Champlain College" said CarShare Vermont Executive Director Annie Bourdon. "The schools' investment in our organization demonstrates a genuine commitment to the health of our community and environment; and their efforts to promote sustainable transportation far exceed many of their peers around the country. We applaud them for walking the walk."

Both David Provost, Senior Vice President at Champlain College, and Bill Ballard, Associate Vice President at UVM, concur that their higher education institutions strive to be leaders in sustainability; reducing the number of vehicles on campus, in their community and in the region; and utilizing their limited space for a better purpose than parking lots. They both are thrilled to offer this new CarShare Vermont incentive in conjunction with their membership at CATMA to achieve these goals.

In 1992, CATMA was formed to jointly plan, develop and manage all transportation and parking programs, infrastructure, and associated facilities for its members, as well as sharing resources. CATMA's transportation demand management (TDM) initiatives serve diverse constituents, while minimizing costs to the environment, energy and land use by reducing single occupant vehicles, lessening traffic and parking congestion and protecting our air quality. CATMA also serves Associate Member, CCRPC and Affiliate Member, American Red Cross. Visit www.catmavt.org for more info.

CarShare Vermont's mission is to provide an affordable, convenient, and reliable alternative to private car ownership that enhances the environmental, economic, and social wellbeing of the region and planet. It makes available a network of vehicles that its members can reserve and use 24/7, paying low hourly and mileage fees based on how much they drive. CarShare Vermont takes care of everything-from gas, insurance, and routine maintenance to snow removal and parking-while its members save money, increase their mobility, enhance the environment, and build community through sharing. Find out more at www.carsharevt.org.