Any plan with a monthly membership fee can be changed every 30 days. The only exception is the Try It plan which can be changed whenever you’d like to.
PLUS is an add-on benefit to any paid plan that removes the $1,000 at-fault damage fee in the event you’re in an accident. PLUS also removes any admin fees (such as ticket processing, etc.) and increases your per-trip mileage by an additional 100 miles.
Plans with PLUS in their title have PLUS benefits standard and cannot be further upgraded.
No, one plan covers both services. The trip costs are different between each plan, but you will only be charged for one monthly membership fee for both services.
Evie trips are charged by the minute or hour and are billed automatically by the lowest cost accrued on that trip. Sometimes, it’s cheaper to have multiple short trips throughout the day, and other times it’s cheaper to use the hourly rate. Since our system bills by the trip, plan ahead to determine which is cheaper for you.
Once you’ve paid the One-Time $25 Registration Fee, there are no other mandatory fees. To get the lowest rates, or if you’re driving Evie or HOURCAR more than twice in a billing period, we recommend you to subscribe to a monthly membership plan.
All other fees are totally avoidable. These include fees for a dirty interior of a car, ticket processing, and others. Read more about them here.
Yes, you are charged the same rate while your car is in stopover. It is necessary to pause your trip while not in use to secure the vehicle, but this does not change the rate you pay.
A one-way trip is when you drive the car from point A to point B and end your trip. The car stays there and you go on with your day. For example, bike to work, but if the forecast changes, grab an Evie for your commute home.
It’s cool to think that you work and live in some pretty hopping places, but that’s not how one-way trips work. Free-float vehicles tend to operate the same way you do, so a bunch may end up downtown during the work day, but they’ll also be used for errands and business meetings during the day. At the end of the day, you’ll take a car home but a neighbor might quickly snag it after for that overdue concert.
Any car that sits for too long will be relocated by our fleet team so it won’t be alone for too long.
Yes, Evie’s can leave the Home Area, but must be returned to complete your trip. So feel free to take a quick drive out to Stillwater or day trip to Duluth, just remember to end your trip in the Home Area within 3 days.
Your trip can be as short as 1 minute or as long as 72 hours. You must end your trip in the Evie Home Area. Any trips longer than 72 hours may be ended for you, and if the vehicle is outside of the Home Area, you may be charged an unavailable vehicle fee plus the cost of our teams retrieval time.
Take a look here. The app is pretty easy to use, but if you have further questions, give us a call and we’ll help you out!
Look for the Evie Carshare App in the App Store for iOS (Apple) and in the Google Play Store for Android.
Older operating systems may not be supported, nor Blackberry or Windows devices.
Any car that sits for too long will be relocated by our fleet team so it won’t be alone for too long.
Do that here. Give us 3 business days to process the request.
Guaranteed Ride Home is a program by Metro Transit which rewards people who walk, bike, carpool, or take transit to work with $100 reimbursement credits in case you have an emergency or have to work late. Learn more and sign up for Guaranteed Ride Home for FREE here.
Yes, Evie Carshare qualified for GRH reimbursement, so long as you and your transportation habits do. To get reimbursed, take an Evie trip like normal. Then send in your invoice as part of your reimbursement request.
Reserve the car in the app and, upon arrival, start your trip. This will unlock the doors and remove security alarms.
Then, pull on the charging cord away from the charging station to give some slack. Press the button on top of the charging handle and remove the charging cord from the charging port. Return the handle to its holder in the EV Spot Charging terminal. Close the charging door of the car and begin your trip.
Depends on the car and the power supplied. Level 1 charging is the slowest and is basically like running an extension from your living room to the car. It takes over 24 hours to charge any EV on a Level 1 charger.
Level 2 will be the majority of chargers available and will charge most EVs to 80% charge within a few hours. The remaining charge percent is drastically slowed and takes longer to get to 100%.
DCFC (Level 3) is rapid charging and will quickly charge the car to nearly 80%, usually around 30 minutes.
Learn more about charging EV’s with Xcel Energy.
Evie’s charged on the EV Spot Network will be charged on 100% renewable energy. To make this possible, Xcel Energy is subsidizing some of the charging cost, and HOURCAR is picking up the rest. You will not need to cover the cost of charging as this is already factored into your minute, hourly, and daily rates.
If you are outside the Home Area, you can charge the vehicle at any charger operated by ChargePoint using the keychain sized ChargePoint card located in the glovebox. ChargePoint locations can be found online with Plugshare. HOURCAR still pays for the charging. If there are no nearby ChargePoint chargers, you can pay for charging fees yourself and forward your receipts to info@hourcar.org for reimbursement of costs via drive credit.
One-Way Trips: Charge up at at any green EV Spot Charger and get a $4 Drive Credit towards a future trip. Else, when a vehicle drops below 25% charge value, the car goes out of service and we come and charge it up.
Day Trips: There is a Chargepoint charging card in the glovebox, giving you access to available Chargepoint stations. If you are taking a longer trip, access stations across the region with the PlugShare app/website. For trips to greater Minnesota and beyond, we recommend saving some money and reserving an HOURCAR instead.
Take a look here.
The levels of charging refer to how much power each type of charger can provide to charge up the car. The higher the level, the faster the Evie can get back up to a full battery.
View information about the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt Recall Expansion here.
The Evie Carshare fleet currently offers a mixture of all 5 passenger hatchbacks comprised of the Chevrolet Bolt (EPA 259 miles of range), Nissan Leaf PLUS (212 miles) and Nissan Leaf (149 miles) You can find available range stickers inside of the glovebox on the right hand side.
*Aggressive driving and weather may change the estimated range of each vehicle.
There is a low noise that comes from the car when it’s on. While you’re inside of the car, look for other signs that the car is on. These include the screens and dashboard lighting up, radio on, etc.
Yes, electric cars drive just like traditional cars, with exception that they accelerate faster, are much quieter, and have the ability to recapture energy to store for future trips.
Think of Evie as your car. If you need a city permit to park in your neighborhood, then you’re covered with Evie. We pay city meters, so you don’t have to – just make sure it’s at one that has a time limit of 2 hours or greater (more about meters in the city-specific parking info.)
Don’t leave an Evie in a city metered stall with a time limit less than 2 hours (most of these are 15-30 minute meters.)
We pay for parking costs accrued with the City of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. We do not pay for parking costs with the Parks & Recreation departments or private institutions like the University of Minnesota and parking ramps. Parking metered fees are included in your trip costs, along with charging, insurance, maintenance, and 24/7 roadside assistance.
Yup, we cover the cost of those too. If you’re headed to watch the Wild win at the Xcel Center or the Twins battle for greatness at Target Field, we’ve got event meters covered. Drive, park, and enjoy the game.
These are Evie-only reserved parking spots. These are located around the Twin Cities, including at the University of Minnesota Minneapolis and St Paul campuses. If the stall is full, you must find another approved location. Unfortunately, you can not reserve a spot ahead of time, they are first-come, first-serve.
Park wherever you would park a car, but remember to use Stopover mode to lock the car. You can’t end your trip outside of the Home Area, so if there are fees required, it’s up to you to pay them.
You can definitely pick up friends and family at the airport, but you cannot leave an Evie there. We do not have an agreement for one-way trips to the Minneapolis / St Paul International Airport. Any vehicle left there will be subjected to totally avoidable fees and fines, so don’t do it.
Minneapolis is pretty easy – any city meter without a red band at the top is okay to end your trip at. Meters with a red band in Minneapolis have restrictions, like valet parking, rush hour streets, things like that.
Don’t end your trip at any Park & Rec Board meter (commonly found along East & West River Roads (Parkways), Minnehaha Falls, etc) or University of Minnesota meter (they’re maroon and on-campus).
Note: There are “Tips for Trips” cards located inside the pocket of the drivers side door.
Day #1:
Yes:
Park on BOTH sides of non-Snow Emergency Route streets. These are streets with sign colors that are green or brown.
No:
Do not park on Snow Emergency Routes. These are marked with red “Snow Emergency Route” signs. Street sign colors are blue.
Day #2:
Yes after 8am:
Park on ODD sides of green or brown streets AND return to parking on both sides of Snow Emergency Routes starting at 8am.
No after 8am:
Do not park on even sides of non-Snow Emergency Routes OR either side of Parkways (ex: Minnehaha Parkway)
Day #3:
Yes after 8am:
Park on EVEN sides of green or brown streets AND continue parking on both sides of Snow Emergency Routes. You may return to parking on both sides of park- ways starting at 8am.
No after 8am:
Do not park on odd sides of non-Snow Emergency Routes.
Any city meter in St Paul with a time maximum of 2 hours or more is paid for by HOURCAR, but may not be approved due to city street sweeping rules. All meters in St Paul have a red-banded restriction. If there is a no parking restriction within the next 12 hours, do not end your trip at that meter. City meters alternate sides for no parking restrictions, so an open spot across the street should be valid.
Night Plow Routes:
Plowing begins at 9pm on NIGHT PLOW
ROUTES when a Snow Emergency is declared.
Routes are signed “Night Plow Route” or
“Night Plow Route This Side of Street.” All
downtown streets are Night Plow Routes,
though signs may not be posted. Parking is
banned on each Nigh Plow Route until the
street is fully plowed. Vehicles on Night Plow Routes at 9pm will be ticketed and towed. Any trip ended after a Snow Emergency is declared on an affected route is liable for any tickets/tow charges.
Day Plow Routes:
Plowing begins after night plow routes are completed, typically at 8am. There are NO SIGNS on Day Plow Routes. Parking is banned until the street is fully plowed. Vehicles remaining on the Day Plow Route at 8am will be ticketed and towed.
Ticketing & Towing for 96 Hours:
Once both are completed, follow-up plowing/sanding/salting and miscellaneous cleaning will continue for as long as required, up to 96 hours.
Unless there is a dedicated Evie Parking Only location on campus, you can not end a trip on-site. You can perform a stopover, however must pay the campus meter during the cars parking duration. Any ticket/tow at a campus will be charged to you, so if you’re in doubt, stick to on-street city parking 2 hours or greater, including permit required areas.
We currently have agreements with the University of Minnesota to provide four locations, each with 2+ vehicle spaces to end trips. Find locations and get directions on the Evie Carshare App.
Evie is for one-way trips driven by all-electric vehicles. Evie trips are charged by the minute or hour and are operated on a free-float network. Trips can begin and end in almost any public spot within the Home Area.
Remember being 17 and asking permission to use your mom’s station wagon from 6pm-8pm? That’s kinda like HOURCAR. Schedule your trip ahead of time (up to 6 months in advance, for as short as 30 minutes or as long as 3 days) and return the car exactly where and how you found it (clean and in good condition). The same rules about lateness apply – so don’t get grounded. The big difference is that now that you’re an adult, you don’t have to pay for gas and can pick which car you want (wagons are now optional, but somehow cooler than 15 years ago…)
Yes, HOURCAR will be phasing in electric cars to its fleet These cars are part of the HOURCAR Multifamily Project and will be available at affordable housing sites around the Twin Cities. HOURCAR vehicles must always be returned to the hub where they came from, and Evie vehicles will always be free-floating within the Home Area.
No, the rates between the two are not the same. Generally speaking, Evie rates are higher than HOURCAR rates, which is why we recommend longer and farther trips to be taken with an HOURCAR, while short, quick, and unplanned trips around the Twin Cities stick with Evie.
Compare rates here.
When you apply, if you’re approved, we’ll approve you for both services. If you’re an HOURCAR member before Evie was launched (May 13, 2022), you’ll be automatically enrolled. There is no additional fee to be a member of both services as they both operate on the same back end.
Evie is for one-way trips driven by all-electric vehicles. Evie trips are charged by the minute, hour, and day and are operated on a free-float network. Trips can begin and end in almost any public spot within the Home Area.
Remember being 17 and asking permission to use your mom’s station wagon from 6pm-8pm? That’s kinda like HOURCAR. Schedule your trip ahead of time (up to 6 months in advance, for as short as 30 minutes or as long as 3 days) and return the car exactly where and how you found it (clean and in good condition). The same rules about lateness apply – so don’t get grounded. The big difference is that now that you’re an adult, you don’t have to pay for gas and can pick which car you want (wagons are now optional, but somehow cooler than 15 years ago…)
Yes, we will soon have electric vehicles in the HOURCAR fleet. These cars are part of the HOURCAR Multifamily Project and will be available at affordable housing sites around the Twin Cities. HOURCAR vehicles must always be returned to the hub where they came from, and Evie vehicles will always be free-floating within the Home Area.
No, the rates between the two are not the same. Generally speaking, Evie rates are higher than HOURCAR rates, which is why we recommend longer and farther trips are taken with an HOURCAR, while short, quick, and unplanned trips around the Twin Cities stick with Evie.
Compare rates here.
Xcel Energy is a sponsor of Evie Community Carshare. Xcel Energy supports efforts to increase access to electric vehicles in underserved communities. Learn more about how Xcel Energy is helping customers drive electric.
