Have you ever found yourself desperately in need of a car, but mom and dad wouldn't provide the funds and the rental companies weren't of any help? Well, now there's Zipcar - a privately owned company that offers affordable and easy access to cars for short-term periods round the clock, throughout the year.
People in Europe have long been driving with time-share services like Zipcar. These companies are already in place in over 500 cities, and serve more than 70,000 members. Now, a similar service has come to Boston, a city that houses over 40,000 college students and countless young corporates.
With over 15 locations in and around the Boston area, including the Osco at Davis Square, Zipcar is a fast-growing company that caters to the needs of young, car-less city dwellers, unsatisfied with public transportation and not willing or able to pay for a car of their own.
Zipcar members can use cars at a rate that, if used 15 hours a month, will total up to about $1300 a year. A basic membership includes gas, insurance, maintenance, and parking with five relatively cheap payment components. Costs include a $25 non-refundable application fee, a $300 fully refundable insurance deposit, a $75 annual fee, an hourly rate that ranges from $4.50 to $7, and a mileage fee of $0.40 a mile.
Zipcar works on a fairly simple system. First, members reserve the car of their choice for a desired length of time, with a minimum of one hour, up to two months in advance. Then, arrive at your designated pick-up location, unlock one of several brand new VW beetles, Golfs, Passat station wagons, pickup trucks, or minivans with a smart card, enter your pin number and drive away. After you're done just return the car to the place where you picked it up, in the condition you found it in, and simply walk away.
Easy, right? Well, this is only possible if you're a member, and obtaining a membership as a college student may not be as easy or as convenient as it seems.
A membership, available through an on-line application, is available to anyone over the age of 21 who complies with a few regulations - no more than two driving incidents (moving violations or accidents) in the past three years and no more than one in the past 18 months. Those with a California or international license must first get hard copies of their past driving records and submit them to Zipcar's insurance department before memberships can be considered.
For drivers between the ages of 21 and 24, a couple more restrictions apply - you must either be in college or have graduated from college, and are not allowed to drive the car Friday, Saturday, or Sunday nights after 6 p.m.
Though many people are already using Zipcars and praise their benefits, the limitations placed on younger members might make the service unattainable and even undesirable to the college crowd. Tufts sophomore Melody Wilson admits that the idea of a Zipcar is only mildly appealing.
"The idea sounds great but the things they are doing to protect themselves from high insurance and accidents are the things that make them less appealing and more of a hassle for college students."
The founders of Zipcar claim that their service reduces individual car usage by as much as 50 percent, and that each shared vehicle can replace four to eight privately owned vehicles. These statistics result in fewer greenhouse gas emissions, less congestion on the roadways, less need for parking, and even the replacement of old cars with new ones with better pollution controls. For more information, visit the website at www.zipcar.com.
