GIG car share is now in El Cerrito!



If the car-lite lifestyle is to grow in popularity, it will need to be augmented with easily accessible rental cars, so you will not be deprived of out-of-town excursions or prevent you from running errands that require generous cargo space. But how can this need be satisfied in El Cerrito?

A game changer is the arrival of GIG Car Share to El Cerrito! An affiliate service of AAA, GIG cars are distributed on streets throughout a service area such as El Cerrito. (In addition to the Bay Area, Sacramento and Seattle also have them). In El Cerrito you can now download the GIG app on your smartphone, view a map showing where cars are located in your neighborhood. You can select a car on the map, reserve it by pressing a button, walk to it, open it with your smartphone, and drive away.

How to use GIG Car Share
You'll pay with your credit card linked to the GIG app, based on the number of minutes, hours, or days that you rent the car for; rates are currently about 59 cents per minute, $19 per hour, $80 for 8 hours, and $118 per day (or as low as $71 per day if you pay in advance). (Older “Special GIG” cars can be rented for less.) All GIG cars in our service area are black hybrid Prius hatchbacks with two bike racks on top.

When you are done with the GIG car, you'll need to return it to the service area, which currently includes the central part of El Cerrito and the Plaza and Del North BART stations, as well as Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, Alameda, and parts of San Francisco. You do not need to park the GIG car in the same place that you picked it up. You can even park GIG cars near the Oakland airport and be on your way.

GIG rentals include all gasoline and insurance. Don’t forget to request a GIG card, in case you drive into an area that does not have cell service for your smartphone. In that case, you’ll need the card to open and close the car.

GIG is presently in El Cerrito for a 6-month trial period for the city to test for local acceptance, especially if there are any conflicts with residential parking permit areas around the BART stations. The city is also hoping to expand the borders of the map. If you think its service could be valuable to you, try it soon so GIG and the City of El Cerrito will know that locals are excited.

Other options
Zipcar is also in El Cerrito. It's a bit cheaper than GIG, but requires paying a membership fee of $9 per month or $70 per year. You can also open Zipcars with your smartphone. You'll find Zipcars parked at the El Cerrito and Del Norte BART stations. After using them, you need to return them to the BART stations.

For car owners who would like to make some money renting their cars to other El Cerritans, Getaround and Turo are also in El Cerrito. Getaround vehicles can be found at dedicated parking spaces at Del Norte and Plaza stations.

If you want to rent a squeaky clean car that hasn't been driven by anyone else that day, Doherty's Truck and Car Rental offers cars scrubbed for each new rental. They are across San Pablo Avenue from El Cerrito's City Hall. If you can't drive there (why would you drive a car to a car rental agency), you can get to Doherty's on AC Transit bus 72. Otherwise, you can bicycle there. (Tell them they need secure bicycle parking.)

Del Norte BART has four parking spaces for GIG cars. Plaza BART has two spaces.



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