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Will Zipcar be your ride of choice?

by Jerry Guo (RSS feed) on Jan 29th 2008 at 11:00AM

Though Zipcar--the largest car-sharing service in the US--boasts 180,000 members and 5,000 cars in more than 50 cities across the states, Europe, and Canada, chances are you still haven't heard of them.

In late October of last year, Zipcar merged with the other dominant car-share company, Flexcar, which makes the new company the de facto service for people who need a car for the occasional errand. It's become quite a hit here in New Haven, CT. Even lots of my friends at Yale are paying the couple hundred in annual membership fees to be able to check out a car for a day.

For many, it's an excellent deal. You can rent by the hour ($8.50 in New Haven) or by the day ($65). And best of all, gas, insurance, and parking are all free. But it's not for me. If you drive long distances, like I do to Pittsburgh, then you're better off just getting a rental, especially since each mile above 180 is $0.35.

But if you need it for a couple hours every weekend or so, this might save you a ton of cash.

Filed under: Transportation, Budget Travel

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Tyson Williams Jan 29th 2008 12:14PM

I have been a member of Zipcar for couple of years in Canada and I love it. I sold my car because of it. Perfect solution for those of us who live downtown in urban centers but still want to use car couple of times a month to do some errands.

Jacqueline Jan 29th 2008 12:53PM

Zipcar is getting some traction here in Chicago too - it is an awesome idea.

Brian Jan 30th 2008 6:04AM

Best part is they have some actually desireable cars, mini's, honda's, mazda's all great cars to actually drive, I am currently a flexcar memeber and cannot wait to get my zipcar card. especially since I travel a lot to the cities they are in.

iva.skoch Jan 30th 2008 1:03PM

I use zipcar in New York pretty often. I love the service. They have really cool cars, too.

Clare Wisner Jan 30th 2008 1:22PM

I-GO Car Sharing is an alternative to Zipcar, if you live in Chicago. I-GO is a non-profit car-sharing organization with almost 200 cars throughout the city and over 7,000 members. One-third of the fleet is hybrid vehicles and the rest are all low emission vehicles. Check I-GO out at www.igocars.org or skim the I-GO blog at http://igocarsharing.blogspot.com/

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