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'Pay As You Drive' Cars Really Help Some People Save

DENVER (CBS4) - A Denver-area program is allowing members to pay as they drive.

At Occasional Car members book a reservation online and they're given a chip to swipe. The keys are in the car and they pay by the hour to use it. For some, it's really a great way to save money.

"Gas was killing me," Chris Gallegos said.

Gallegos had a car that broke down and was costing him a fortune. Now that he's joined Occasional Car, he says owning a car right now doesn't make sense. Gallegos lives downtown and only needs a car as the name suggests -- occasionally. He uses a car maybe once a week.

"It's really easy, it's about $5 an hour, which includes gas and insurance," he said.

Russell Straub started OccasionalCar.com where members can rent a car parked downtown or in Capitol Hill and pay as they drive. Nearly 1,000 people are using his cars.

Gallegos figures it saves him more than $5,000 a year.

"I'm not paying insurance; I'm not paying for gas; I'm not paying for parking," he said.

The cars are parked all around downtown and the Capitol Hill area. Look for the Occasional Car logo on the front doors of the cars.

Link: egocarshare.org | occasionalcar.com

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