Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we have three car sharing organizations, Zipcar (www.zipcar.com), Flexcar (www.flexcar.com) and City Car Share (www.citycarshare.org). Zipcar, by the way, has just started service in London.I haven't used any of these services because they don't have cars near where I live in the suburbs, but the idea makes wonderful sense. Instead of owning a car, just rent it by the hour.Most of the time my car sits in its parking spot. My wife and I calculated that the cost of owning, maintaining and operating her 1996 Honda Civic was about $15 per driving hour. Zipcar will rent you that same car – maybe even a better one -- for $8 an hour including fuel.There are parking spots all over the city where one can pick up a car from these services. When you're done with your errands, just drop it off where you got it.So if you were interested in introducing a new type of transportation into the marketplace, the first place I would start is with these types of organizations. Why? Simply because they control the customer experience from end to end.Not only that, since most of these cars are not used for more than small errands, it's possible to introduce technologies that aren't yet ready for long distance trips.For instance, if Zipcar were to purchase only electric vehicles, the cars could be plugged in between each use – completely eliminating the need to visit fueling stations. In fact, Toyota is pioneering this concept by providing Tufts University (Boston) with several Toyota RAV4 electric vehicles to use in their Zipcar implementation. What are these car sharing services actually integrating? Let's take a look.

• They provide downtown parking as well as the use of the car. In a major city, this is a major benefit.


• They integrate the cost of refueling. Zipcar users fill up the gas at no extra cost whenever it gets below ¼ of a tank. They use a fueling card kept in the glove compartment.


• In the case of electric cars, they integrate the time of refueling. That job is done in between rentals -- especially overnight

What other form of integration is possible? Here are a few more:

• use the existing reservation system to allow Zipcar users to reserve prime parking spots in downtown parking garages -- perfect for midday stops


• partner with other transportation modes, like ferries, trains and buses, to eliminate the time and hassle of paying for each leg of a multi-mode journey


• permit private homeowners to rent their parking spot to allow neighbors access to a shared car

These car sharing companies are taking the first steps in vertical integration. What other levels of vertical integration do you see possible?www.InspiringGreenLeadership.com