HourCar Closure Forces Minneapolis Family to Rethink Every Trip

HourCar will cease operations this week, ending a carshare service that a Minneapolis family calls essential for daily life. Christopher R. Vaughan, a writer and transportation advocate, says the shutdown removes a key option for his household, which has been car-free since June 2021. His family currently uses Evie Carshare, a program run by HourCar, to bridge gaps in their reliance on biking, walking, and public transit.

Vaughan’s family lost their Toyota Corolla in a multi-car crash outside Chicago in 2021. The vehicle was totaled, and Vaughan determined that replacing it was not affordable for his household. He and his wife, a nurse at Hennepin County Medical Center, decided to live without a personal car. They have two children, currently seven years old, who were two at the time of the crash. Since then, they have used biking, walking, and transit for most trips.

However, Vaughan notes that those modes are not always safe or accessible with young children. His wife used Evie to commute from their home in the Lyndale neighborhood to Metro State University in St. Paul and to clinical placements around the Twin Cities. The family also used the service to transport their son to a specialist in Burnsville. For late-ending basketball games at the University of Minnesota, Vaughan used an Evie to drive home from near Williams Arena. A trip to Southern Minnesota for camping involved using an HourCar to drive through fall foliage and visit state parks.

Vaughan learned of the shutdown four days after that camping trip. He describes the loss as a constraint on his family’s options. Without carshare, he expects to take more time off work for appointments and face greater inconvenience. Some trips that previously used Evie will now require expensive ride-share services like Lyft. Vaughan states that other trips may not have a direct replacement.

Vaughan says his family is among thousands in the Twin Cities who view HourCar as a lifeline. He is calling on leaders across the metro and state to pursue funding solutions to restore the service. He acknowledges that behind-the-scenes efforts are underway and that legal and funding considerations are complex. He urges state, regional, and local leaders to act to bring carshare back to Minnesota.

The closure impacts residents who rely on on-demand vehicle access. Vaughan’s family faces reduced access to regional activities. He describes the situation as a challenge for households that depend on flexible transportation options. The service’s end forces these families to reconsider how they move through the Twin Cities.