Buffalo CarShare added three locations to its vehicle-sharing network this week, bringing its total number of hubs to 10.

The nonprofit agency added locations at Elmwood and Lafayette avenues in the Elmwood Village, on Chenango Street near Rhode Island Street on Buffalo's West Side and on Jefferson Avenue at Canisius College.

"We thought it would be a great opportunity for our students, some of our staff and faculty and the residents of Hamlin Park to have such a green option," Terri Mangioni, dean of students at Canisius, said of the college's CarShare hub.

Buffalo CarShare offers a fleet of 10 fuel-efficient cars and one truck at 10 locations that its 250 members can rent at hourly or daily rates. Members can reserve a vehicle online or by phone for an allotted amount of time and use it to go where they want.

The car-sharing industry has ballooned in North America over the past decade and is especially popular in certain cities, such as Toronto, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. CarShare organizers said those who join can save money by reducing the number of cars they own -- sometimes to zero -- while diminishing their negative impact on the environment.

The industry has made an effort to reach out to a broad array of customers in terms of age, race and income level by marketing door to door, allowing members to book by phone and taking money orders and cash cards as payment.

"We feel that we've been able to branch out in terms of barriers of entry, and now we're able to branch out geographically as well," said Creighton Randall, executive director of Buffalo CarShare. "It's just the start."

The car-sharing service has grown rapidly since it was founded in May 2009 by a group of current and former University at Buffalo students with a $149,000 state grant. Starting with three Toyota Yarises and a Corolla, it added three more Yarises by mid-September and a Ford F-150 in May. This week, a Toyota Prius, a Mazda 5 and another Yaris join the fleet.

With 20 to 30 new customers a month, CarShare still is looking to expand, eyeing spots on the Lower West Side, on Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo and near the JFK Recreation Center. Earlier this year, Zipcar Inc. beat out its bid for the UB North Campus in Amherst. CarShare does have a car at UB's South Campus.

"It's going to depend on where members pop up," Randall said.

The operation is 70 percent to 80 percent self-sufficient, and organizers said that the key to complete financial independence is finding more members. Until then, the grant is helping the agency operate.

"Once it becomes a known thing that there's a car service in Buffalo, people will start using it more," Randall said. "It's more changing the mindsets of people in Buffalo than anything else."

dgrandoni@buffnews.comnull