HourCar Closure Strains Car-Free Minneapolis Family Relying on Evie Service
A writer and transportation advocate describes how the loss of the carshare program limits access for his family and thousands of others in the Twin Cities.
By Lina Lewis ·
HourCar announced it will close operations, a decision that leaves a Minneapolis family without the carshare service that has served as a primary transportation method since 2021.
Christopher R. Vaughan, a writer and sustainable transportation advocate, lost his Toyota Corolla in a multi-car crash outside Chicago in June 2021. After determining that replacing the vehicle was not financially viable, his family began relying on biking, walking, and public transit. The HourCar and Evie Carshare programs subsequently filled the gaps in their daily travel needs.
Vaughan’s wife, a nurse at Hennepin County Medical Center, used Evie vehicles to travel from their home in Lyndale to Metro State University in St. Paul and to clinical placements across the Twin Cities. The family also used the service for medical appointments, such as picking up Vaughan’s son from a specialist in Burnsville, and for leisure activities like attending women’s basketball games at the University of Minnesota. In early October, Vaughan used an HourCar to take his seven-year-old twins camping in Southern Minnesota.
Vaughan learned of the shutdown four days after that camping trip. He stated that the loss of carshare means his family will face constrained options, including taking more time off work for appointments and paying for expensive ride-share services to make trips that were previously manageable with a shared car. Some trips, he noted, may not be replaceable at all.
Vaughan identified his family as part of thousands across the Twin Cities who view HourCar as a lifeline. He called on leaders across the metro and state to pursue short- and long-term funding solutions to restore the service. He acknowledged that behind-the-scenes efforts are underway to address the financial situation, though any solution must navigate complex legal and funding considerations.
The family now faces reduced access to regional activities as they adjust to the absence of the carshare fleet. Vaughan urged state, regional, and local leaders to work with partner organizations to restore carshare to Minnesota.
Vaughan, whose poetry and transportation writing have appeared in publications such as Kenyon Review Online and Streets.MN, said families like his are counting on those leaders to act.
