You've got groceries to get at Safeway, laundry at the cleaners and that French restaurant to check out in the suburbs, but, no car.

Soon, that may not be a problem thanks to an intriguing urban trend being studied for Sacramento.

Just walk to a nearby parking lot, swipe a plastic card in a "members-only" car, drive it like it was yours for a few hours, then drop it off where you got it.

Welcome to the eco-friendly world of car sharing, a European concept getting traction in larger American cities from San Francisco to New York City.

Sacramento city officials have talked recently with two companies – one a nonprofit, the other for-profit – about bringing some form of car sharing to the central city.

"It sounds like a really cool idea," city transportation official Linda Tucker said. "It could be a good fit for the midtown area. It affords people the use of a vehicle without the expense of owning it."

Tucker said Sacramento officials are only beginning to explore the idea, and aren't sure if it will pencil out here.

But as more lofts and condominiums are packed into downtown, car sharing could help the city and developers reduce exorbitant parking costs, they say.

It's also appealing, officials say, given the environmental concerns and household budget impacts of California's two- and three-car lifestyle.

Advocates say it invites people to use transit or their own two feet, knowing a car's available when needed.

"It complements transit," said Mike Colman of U Car Share, a fledgling for-profit company owned by U-Haul.

But it won't work in neighborhoods where car ownership is more convenient and transit is slim, transportation planners say.

"It's a niche," City Councilman Steve Cohn, a proponent, conceded. He's hoping to give it a limited test in Sacramento in the next year.

Sacramento city officials recently met with representatives of City CarShare, a seven-year-old nonprofit agency that provides 300 cars at 180 locations for more than 10,000 members in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and a few other Bay Area cities.

City CarShare is similar to programs in other cities. A monthly fee of $10 or $20 allows members to reserve a car online anytime.

The fleet is decidedly hip, including the Toyota Prius, MINI convertible, smart fortwo, as well as the larger Dodge Caravan and Toyota Tacoma pickup.

Customers, called members, are often in their 20s or 30s and live in urban neighborhoods. Many don't own a car.

The member makes a reservation online, generally choosing a car parked within walking distance or bus ride. The system sends a wireless signal to the car to accept that members' plastic entry card. There is no check-in like at a typical rental car agency.

City CarShare pays for the gas and car insurance. CarShare members pay a combined hourly rental and gas fee, averaging about $6.50 an hour, the agency says.

Users usually take the cars to stores and on other short-duration chores, like picking up a friend at the airport.

Some companies buy memberships to avoid dealing with fleet cars for employees who occasionally need a car for a few hours.

Lisa Drostova, an Oakland writer who hated driving around her neighborhood searching for a parking spot for her car, dumped her car when a fan belt broke and gas hit $4 a gallon. She uses a City CarShare car parked at a lot one block from her house.

"I took (the broken belt) as a sign it was time to pay more attention to what my car was costing me, and what it was costing the planet," she said.

She now lines up a bunch of car-dependent chores to do at once. Otherwise she takes transit and walks.

Sacramento city transportation official Fran Halbakken said city government could be a main member of a local car-sharing program if it could save money by reducing its own vehicle fleet.

Car sharing could also relieve the city of one of the costliest space wasters downtown, she said. "The more people car-sharing, the fewer parking spaces we need."

Call The Bee's Tony Bizjak, (916) 321-1059.