Pulse: Player: Tanya Seaman
When Philly Car Share launched in 2002, we thought it very West Coast—this idea that you ditch your car and join a car rental co-op, reserving a hybrid online and picking it up from your neighborhood “pod.” Very green, very Seattle. Not very Philly. Then our friends started signing up. Then city government joined, eliminating 300 vehicles from its fleet and saving $2 million a year. All this thanks to a West Coast transplant, Tanya Seaman. The 38-year-old co-founder and executive director of PCS, Seaman started the nonprofit after getting a master’s in city planning at Penn. Today, she boasts 2,000-plus members who pay $5.90 an hour and nine cents a mile, which covers gas and insurance. Perfect for a city-dweller’s short, utilitarian hops. So if you’re wondering where Philly’s 10,000 projected new residents will park, Seaman has the answer: “We are integrating ourselves into the fabric of the city. When you move here, you’ll sign up for Verizon, PECO, and, hopefully, Philly Car Share.”