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Plan Simplification & Pricing Update: Effective March 4, 2025

Key

On July 31, 2024, we renamed our highest cost plan the ‘Backup Plan’ in an effort to provide clarity and additional transparency of our services. Since then, we are happy to see that more members are driving on lower-cost plans, saving more money on their trips! 

To continue these transparency efforts, we’re taking the next step to simplify our mobility plans, making them easier to understand and use. In addition to our plan simplification process, we are updating our rates to adjust for inflation and operational costs. 

Plan Updates

Our plan simplification process provides the benefits of PLUS options, including more miles per trip and removal of the $1,000 at-fault damage fee to the Backup, Everyday, and Student mobility plans at no additional cost. By expanding the benefits to Backup, Everyday, and Student plans, we can reduce the number of plans offered, thus simplifying our offerings to current and future members. 

Starting March 4, 2025, Everyday PLUS and Student PLUS will be removed and Access PLUS will be renamed “Access”.  Everyday PLUS will be migrated to Everyday and Student PLUS will be migrated to Student. No action is needed from you. Our team will handle converting every member on the Everyday PLUS and Student PLUS plan to the associated plan, helping members save money while providing additional benefits at no additional cost. 

We frequently hear that our plans are complicated to understand and select, especially when new members are selecting a mobility plan for the first time. The benefits of PLUS plans are not well understood and the variety of plans makes things confusing.  We want it to be easy for you to find the cheapest rates. 

If you drive once a month or more, the Everyday Plan is the choice for you, unless you qualify for one of our discounted plans:  

  1. The Student Plan is open to current students, educators, and staff of educational institutions 
  2. The Access Plan is available for those with a household income below 50% AMI.   


If you’re mostly using other transportation but want an account active just in case, the Backup Plan is the place to be.

Merging PLUS Benefits Into Paid Plans:

PLUS benefits provide additional coverage to help keep your costs low, however switching between a standard and a PLUS plan is not easy to do without contacting Member Services, making the benefits less accessible. The amount of plan options can also be overwhelming, especially for new members. We are therefore merging PLUS benefits into paid mobility plans, eliminating the $5 PLUS surcharge, increasing the mileage provided on Everyday and Student plans, and removing the $1,000 at-fault damage fee. 

Included miles of 200 miles per trip per day

With this update, every paid mobility plan will include 200 miles per trip per day. 

Just like your current included miles, these miles span your whole trip and don’t need to be used on any particular day, so a three day trip provides a total of 600 miles. 

For example, say you’re taking a trip to Grand Marais for a three-day long weekend. Because you get 200 miles per trip per day, a three day trip provides 600 total miles. You can drive 260 miles up to Grand Marais on day one of your trip, use 40 miles for a day trip to Lutsen and back to Grand Marais for day two, and drive 260 miles back to the cities on day three, using only 560 of the total 600 miles available, and paying nothing extra for mileage charges.  

Any mobility plan that has a monthly cost is a “paid plan”. Paid plans include Everyday, Student, and Access. Since the Backup Plan has a $0 monthly cost associated, it is not a paid plan, and therefore does not include 200 miles per trip per day. 

$1,000 At-Fault Damage Fee and Damage Fee Waiver Removed, Replaced with $250 Unsafe Driving Damage Fee

We will no longer be charging the $1,000 At-Fault Damage Fee for damage. If HOURCAR determines that unsafe driving behavior contributed to a crash, you will be assessed a $250 Unsafe Driving Damage Fee. 

Examples of unsafe driving behavior include, but are not limited to, excessive speeding, driving while using a handheld device, and aggressive driving.

Normal at-fault crashes, such as forgetting to look twice at a stop sign or being unable to stop on black ice, will not be considered Unsafe Driving for the purposes of this fee.  

The cameras located in all Evie and HOURCAR vehicles use technology that notify our team of unsafe driving practices, including not wearing a seatbelt, driving with your phone in your hands, and anytime the car is in a crash. You can also press the button on the camera to record a moment, such as if you feel unsafe. Events are not reviewed in real-time, but are reviewed multiple times during the day.

In the event of a crash, it is the members responsibility to report the issue and notify our team. The footage from the crash and information reported by the member will be reviewed by our team. 

Increasing Fee Transparency

“Admin Fees” are being removed and replaced with more transparent names and costs. For example, “$15 Ticket Processing Fee”, used in the event of a parking or tow ticket.

We added the Admin Fee when we launched Evie Carshare with the intent that it would be mostly used for ticket processing. The broad and vague fee name caused some confusion for members, so we are now directly labeling fees for specificity and clarity. 

You can see our table of fees in our Member Handbook, page #14. 

We do our best to keep our services transparent and easily understandable. We do not operate on “hidden” or “junk” fees. Any fee charged is a direct result of an action taken, such as smoking in a car, unsafe driving, and cleaning the car due to pet fur. 

Discontinuation of Match-back Credits

Paid plans will no longer include monthly match-back credits as a benefit. The removal of match-back credits not only help simplify plans, but also help us keep our rate increase as minimal as possible. 

This feature was a carryover from our old system, where we offered annual membership plans with a benefit of a match-back credit as a thank you for committing to an annual plan. This model doesn’t make sense on a monthly plan, and it makes plans more complicated to explain and understand.

The benefits of the discounted rate are well worth the monthly membership charge even without the match-back credit, and we hope you agree.

All of our monthly mobility plans will stay the same price: $7/month for Everyday Plan, $6/month for Student Plan, $1/month for Access Plan, and $0 for Backup Plan. The $12 Everyday PLUS and $11 Student PLUS plans will no longer be available after March 4, 2025. 

10 Miles Provided on the Backup Plan

The Backup Plan will now include 10 miles per trip per day before charging 78¢/additional mile.  

Renaming our most expensive plan to the Backup Plan has helped many members understand their plans better and save money. Included miles were removed from the $0 plan several years ago, however after analysis, the average trip on the Backup Plan drives about 5 miles per trip. Including 10 miles per trip per day helps keep things more affordable for members who do drive on the Backup Plan, especially those who use our services for sporadic trips. Examples include going to the mechanics to pickup your own vehicle, bringing your bicycle to the shop for repair, and so on. 

With 10 miles now included, we hope this plan works as a good backup without having to switch plans for those short, sporadic trips around the neighborhood. 

At the beginning of your trip, the odometer is reported to the system. At the end of your trip, the new mileage on the odometer is also reported to the system. The difference then subtracts the included mileage from your plan, and any over-mileage is then billed to your account at the plans ‘per additional mile rate’. Starting March 4, 2025, the additional mileage cost for the Backup Plan is 78¢/mile after the first ten miles are used. 

Changes Start March 4, 2025:

All changes will take place on March 4, 2025, and no action is needed from you. We will be updating the benefits of Everyday and Student Plans, renaming the Access PLUS Plan to “Access”, and transferring members on Everyday PLUS and Student PLUS Plans to the updated Everyday and Student Plans.

Here is a summary of changes by plan:

$0 Backup Plan

  • 10 miles per trip per day included
  • No $1000 at-fault damage fee

$1 Access PLUS Plan

  • Renamed plan to “Access Plan”
  • Removal of monthly match-back credit
  • Removal of Damage Fee Waiver

$7 Everyday / $6 Student Plan

  • 200 miles per trip per day (previously 100 miles)
  • No $1000 at-fault damage fee
  • Removal of monthly match-back credit

$12 Everyday PLUS / $11 Student PLUS

  • Merged plan into “Everyday/Student Plan”
  • Lower monthly costs of $7/$6 per month
  • Removal of monthly match-back credit
  • Removal of Damage Fee Waiver
  • Members on the Everyday PLUS or Student PLUS on March 4, 2025, will be moved to Everyday or Student Plans. Your new plan cycle will begin on March 4, 2025. 

Price Update Effective March 4, 2025

Inflation and increased operational costs require us to implement a rate increase of less than 5% across all of our services. We have worked hard to crunch numbers to ensure the rate increase makes the least minimal impact on your household as possible.  

Standard Monthly Mobility Plans:

Everyday

Your Standard, Go-To Plan

$7

Monthly Membership Fee

Evie Carshare

23¢ / Minute

$10.98 / Hour

$93.73 / Day

200 Miles / Trip / Day Included (+51¢ / add’l mile)

HOURCAR

No Minute Rate

$7.70 / Hour

$70.30 / Day

200 Miles / Trip / Day Included (+51¢ / add’l mile)

Backup Plan

When you Need a Carshare Break

$0

Monthly Membership Fee

Evie Carshare

35¢ / Minute

$16.89/ Hour

$144.20 / Day

10 Miles / Trip / Day Included (+78¢ / add’l mile)

HOURCAR

No Minute Rate

$11.85 / Hour

$108.15 / Day

10 Miles / Trip / Day Included (+78¢ / add’l mile)

Discounted Monthly Mobility Plans:

Student

For Students, Faculty, & Staff

$6

Monthly Membership Fee

Evie Carshare

21¢ / Minute

$10.14 / Hour

$86.52 / Day

200 Miles / Trip / Day Included (+47¢ / add’l mile)

HOURCAR

No Minute Rate

$7.11 / Hour

$64.89 / Day

200 Miles / Trip / Day Included (+47¢ / add’l mile)

Access

Our Income-Based Plan

$1

Monthly Membership Fee

Evie Carshare

21¢ / Minute

$10.14 / Hour

$86.52 / Day

200 Miles / Trip / Day Included (+47¢ / add’l mile)

HOURCAR

No Minute Rate

$7.11 / Hour

$64.89 / Day

200 Miles / Trip / Day Included (+47¢ / add’l mile)

FAQs:

With feedback directly from members, we frequently hear that our plans are complicated to understand and select. The benefits of PLUS plans are not well understood and the variety of plans makes choosing one difficult.

We want it to be easy for you to find the cheapest rates. If you drive at least once a month, the Everyday plan is the choice for you – unless you qualify for one of our discounted plans:

  1. The Student Plan is open to current students, educators, and staff of educational institutions
  2. The Access Plan is available for those with a household income below 50% AMI.

If you’re mostly using other transportation but want an account active just in case, the Backup Plan is the place to be.

We are also adjusting our rates to HOURCAR and Evie to continue to cover inflation and operating expenses.

No action is needed from you. All changes will take place on March 4, 2025. We will be updating the benefits of Everyday and Student Plans, renaming the Access PLUS Plans, and switching members on Everyday PLUS and Student PLUS to the updated Everyday and Student Plans.

We will no longer be charging the $1,000 At-Fault Damage fee for damage caused. In the event of a crash, HOURCAR and our insurance covers damage sustained during your trip to our or other vehicles.

However, if camera footage shows that unsafe driving behavior contributed to a crash, you may be assessed a $250 Unsafe Driving Damage Fee. Examples of unsafe driving behavior include, but are not limited to, excessive speeding, driving while using a handheld device, and aggressive driving. Normal at-fault mistakes that cause damage, such as forgetting to check back to the left when crossing traffic or driving a bit too close to someone on a slippery road, will not be considered Unsafe Driving for the purposes of this fee.

It is your responsibility to immediately notify HOURCAR and supply all information required. 

If camera footage shows that unsafe driving behavior contributed to the crash, you may be assessed up to a $250 Unsafe Driving Damage Fee. Examples of unsafe driving behavior include, but are not limited to, excessive speeding, driving while using a handheld device, and aggressive driving. Normal at-fault mistakes that cause damage, such as driving on black ice, getting rear-ended, etc, will not be considered Unsafe Driving for the purposes of this fee.

Yes, this price change will impact both services. See new rates, effective March 4, 2025, above. The total price change is a 3-4% increase over 2024 rates. 

Costs to operate and repair our vehicles have risen due to inflation and other factors. As such, we are adjusting prices to ensure our vehicles stay available for you to use.

Yes, and it’s pretty easy to do!  

Evie:

• $4 Charging Credit: All members who leave an Evie properly charging at your local green EV Spot Charger will receive an automatic $4 Drive Credit towards the next trip, valid for use within the next 60 days. All Drive Credit expires 60 days after application and is automatically applied to trip costs until used or expired. Drive Credit cannot be applied to taxes, fees or transferred to another member. 
• $10 Drive Credit for each Evie saved from a ticket/tow. This includes improperly parked Evies or those parked on an affected route during a snow emergency. Simply email your info, the car info, and trip info to our Member Services team and they will review and manually apply credits.

HOURCAR:

• $4 Refuel Credit: All members who drive a gas-powered HOURCAR receive a fuel credit when five or more gallons are pumped into the vehicle. For trips where the fuel level is less than 25% at the end of your trip, the driver must refuel the car for the next member. The fuel card is located in the glovebox and the pin for the fuel card is located in the app, shown to you once your trip has started. 

Events: 

• When you see our Engagement Team out and about in the community, chances are you’ll be able to win Drive Credit. Swing on over and come say hi! Find upcoming events here. 

Plan & Pricing Updates
Effective March 4, 2025

We’re simplifying our plans and updating pricing for both HOURCAR and Evie Carshare services. Changes begin on March 4, 2025.