Meet Miocar, a clean vehicle program that has the potential to make Uber and Lyft a thing of the past.

Micocar, a carsharing service, has been in Kern County since July of 2019, and residents in the Lamont, Arvin, and Wasco communities have benefited from the service, allowing them to quickly rent electric cars for short periods of time through a web browser or smartphone app.

“We know that there are very limited transportation options in these communities,” Abigail Solis, Sustainable Energy Solutions manager at Self-Help Enterprises said during a March 2021 webinar. “The other thing we learned is that these transportation options are very inconvenient along with being expensive.”

Miocar, funded by a California Air Resource Board (CARB) grant, is meant to provide an affordable transportation option for residents who don’t have easy access to transportation. The program is membership based and requires a one-time $20 application processing fee. The driving rates are $4 hourly, or $35 for the entire day.

These 100 percent electric vehicles are parked at charging stations where they are available to reserve and pick up 24/7. Miocar is available to anyone over 21 years of age with a valid drivers license from one of the 50 accepted states, a relatively clean driving record, and a valid credit, debit, or bank card.

Although the vehicles are located in the communities of Wasco, Lamont, and Arvin, they are accessible to any applicant that gets approved. The charging stations, where you pick up and drop off the vehicles, can be found at Caliente Creek Apartments in Arvin, the Rancho Lindo Apartments in Lamont, or the Rosaleda Village Apartments, the Sunrise Villas Apartments, or the Villa Hermosa Apartments in Wasco.

Applications for this service can be submitted online at bookings.miocar.org or by downloading the app through the Apple app store or the Google Play store.

Featured photo: Miocars charge at the the Rancho Lindo Apartments in Lamont.