John Tuohy

john.tuohy@indystar.com

The BlueIndy electric-car share program announced Thursday it had nearly 1,100 memberships in its first four months, exceeding expectations but still thousands of members and several years away from being profitable.

“This is better than we projected, and it is better than what our programs in France did at the same time,” BlueIndy spokesman Lance Boehmer said.

About 95 percent of the users have bought yearly memberships and the rest monthly, weekly or daily memberships. The busiest stations are Downtown, where drivers park the compact, smart-car-like vehicles in the morning and check them out at night.

More than 7,000 rides have been taken, and the average trip is 22 minutes, Boehmer said. There are a total of 65 stations and 135 cars.

BlueIndy officials told state regulators in April 2014 that the venture would need 20,000 yearly memberships and 20,000 weekly rides before it turned a profit, which could take six years to achieve.

City-County Council Vice President Zach Adamson is skeptical the service will ever be in the black.

“I don’t want them to fail, but I think they will because I don’t think this was well thought out,” said Adamson, chairman of the Public Works Committee, where BlueIndy must get many of its approvals to operate.

The city has an interest in the ride share succeeding because it has a profit-sharing agreement with BlueIndy. But Adamson said the electric cars are too burdensome for users to check out compared with hailing a taxi, Uber, Lyft or even renting a bikeshare bike.

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“Plus, everyone in this city has a car and likes driving,” Adamson said.

Company officials are optimistic because the membership numbers were reached largely without the help of what is expected to be its largest customer bases: students and airport travelers.

In the coming weeks BlueIndy will have five stations, or 25 cars, at the University of Indianapolis, two stations at Marian University and five stations at Butler University.

In addition, the service will have five stations at the Indianapolis International Airport. Placement there was delayed because the airport was repairing its parking garage roof, where the BlueIndy stations will be.

Boehmer said the airport stations should be heavily used because the cars will be cheaper than cabs and the users don’t have to pay for parking.

The company also is negotiating bulk memberships with large corporations and property management groups.

BlueIndy ultimately plans to have 500 cars at 200 stations in Indianapolis.

The French conglomerate, The Bolloré Group, has invested more than $40 million in the Indianapolis operation, and the city is spending $6 million for the construction of charging stations. BlueIndy’s research showed Indianapolis as an ideal location for its initial United States program because of the density downtown, the area's limited public transportation and 80,000 college students, many of whom don’t own cars.

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The company also has car shares in Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux in France and plans to open one in London. It is exploring opening the service in Los Angeles.

The BlueIndy cars allow renters to check them out at a kiosk with a credit card and driver’s license. For those with a $120 yearly membership, the cost for a BlueIndy vehicle is $4 for every 20 minutes. The hourly rates are higher for monthly, weekly and daily memberships.

The rollout of BlueIndy has been controversial because the stations are taking prime parking sports on busy streets in choice commercial areas. Members of the City Council were angered that the company was able to claim the spots without getting council approval or special permits.

The council and BlueIndy now are in negotiations to require the company to pay a yearly franchise fee, said the council's chief financial officer, Bart Brown.

A proposal, likely to be introduced to the Public Works Committee later this month, would charge the company for each station, possibly as much as $25 a year. “Just enough to cover the city’s cost of maintenance and labor at the station,” Brown said.

Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at (317) 444-6418 and follow on Twitter @john_tuohy.

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BlueIndy by the numbers

Months in service: 4.

Memberships: 1,100.

Rides: 7,000.

Average time per ride: 22 minutes.

Stations: 65.

Cars: 135.