From time to time, we’ll throw out an “Idea of the Day” culled from sources here in Arizona and elsewhere. The following idea was highlighted in an August 5, 2008 Arizona Republic article, “Car-sharing service now in downtown Phoenix,” by Kerry Fehr-Snyder. Here’s what it’s all about:
The Valley’s only car-sharing program expanded to Arizona State University’s downtown Phoenix campus Monday. Zipcar has been operating exclusively at ASU’s main campus in Tempe since November, when it bought competitor Flexcar. That company brought the service to ASU’s main campus in September. Zipcar is moving one of its vehicles, a four-door Toyota Yaris sedan, from its 10-car fleet in Tempe to the downtown Phoenix campus, as classes for the 2008-09 academic year start Monday. ASU is the only Zipcar location in Arizona. The company launched in 2000 at Central Square in Cambridge, MA, halfway between MIT and Harvard with a dozen green Volkswagen Beetles. “It started out with very early adopters who gave community and environmental reason for wanting to use the service,” said company spokeswoman Kristina Kennedy. “Now it’s really hitting the mainstream.”
Zipcar has partnered with dozens of universities, including Georgetown, Columbia, the University of Michigan, and the University of Chicago. Its network includes more than 5,000 vehicles in 50 U.S. cities plus the United Kingdom. The service is aimed at students, faculty and staff who either don’t own a car or don’t want to bring one to campus but want short-term use of a vehicle. The company charges university members who are at least 18 years old a membership fee of $35 per year plus $9 per hour or $66 per day to use a car. That compares with a daily rental rate of about $70 a day for a similar vehicle with a car-rental company. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
Downtown Voices Coalition 