The video begins at 3:21.

Abstract: Portland will soon have three different kinds of car sharing companies: fleet-based (Zipcar), peer to peer (Getaround), and point to point (Car2go).  These companies are all seeing very rapid growth, reflecting an explosion of interest car-lite lifestyles that rely on public transit and bicycles for daily commuting complemented by occasional, hourly car rental.  Living "car lite" is a growing trend not only in US cities, but also in Europe and Japan. Today's discussion will explore why car sharing is suddenly growing so fast, why venture capitalists, automakers and insurance conglomerates are all paying very close attention -- and investing -- and what this trend could mean for the future of urban living.

Steve Gutmann has been involved in the car sharing industry since 1998, when he was a young car-free banker who needed access to a car to visit clients.  He joined Car Sharing Portland that year, took a job at Flexcar a few months later, and eventually became the company's National Sales Manager until Flexcar merged with Zipcar.  He has consulted on car sharing for a major European automaker and a top-three insurance company, and he currently works for Getaround, the nation's leading peer to peer car sharing company.  He lives in SE Portland with his wife and two young daughters.