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News in brief

Aspen Times staff report
Aspen, CO, Colorado

ASPEN – The city of Aspen’s car-share program, Car to Go, now relies solely on hybrid vehicles.

The membership-based program recently replaced a Ford Ranger truck with a new Chevy Silverado hybrid. Now the program has nine vehicles: four Toyota Prius sedans, two Ford Escape SUVs, two Ford Fusion sedans and the new truck.

“We think of car sharing as a piece of the transportation puzzle,” said Aspen transportation director John Krueger.



He said access to a vehicle, coupled with an extensive public transit system serving the city, “is an effective means of keeping our traffic volumes at or below 1993 levels, the ultimate goal of our department.”

Car to Go has more than 150 members who share the nine-vehicle fleet. Members can reserve a car for the day they need it by phone or on the Internet. The cost is $4 per hour plus 25 cents to 35 cents per mile, which covers gas, maintenance, insurance and roadside assistance.




The idea behind the program is to offer local residents an easy-to-use alternative to owning a car. Memberships also are available to businesses. Member surveys show that Car to Go users have increased their time walking, riding their bikes and using public transit while avoiding the purchase of a personal vehicle.

A majority of the funds allocated to purchase the new truck came from a federal grant designed to help communities cut down on congestion and air pollution.

For more information, visit the website http://www.cartogo.com.

ASPEN – A homeowners association has dropped its lawsuit against the developer, owner and purported buyer of the Dancing Bear Lodge in Aspen.

Dancing Bear Residence Owners Association Inc. dropped its complaint earlier this week, just days after the suit was filed Jan. 26 in Pitkin County District Court.

The suit claimed that the homeowners were entitled to the wine room and two employee units at the project. Instead, the homeowners contended that the project’s owner, Tanzbar DB Holdings LLC, said the buyer, Sunrise Co. of Aspen, was goingto “deal with the matter.”

Court records don’t reflect any disposition in the matter other than that the homeowners association dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it won’t file a similar complaint again.