Review of Zipcar in Chicago

Like most Chicagoans who can't afford to own a car or choose not to, I occasionally miss driving. Taking my cats to the vet in a cab or carrying home more than a couple bags of groceries on the train can be difficult or just plain annoying. Zipcar is a car-sharing service for urbanites, meant for people like me who live comfortably without owning a car but who need a vehicle from time to time.

With a Zipcar membership, you can borrow a Zipcar from any of their locations (mostly larger cities and college towns). I use Zipcar exclusively in Chicago, so this review is about my experiences with the company over the last year.

How it Works

When you sign up for a Zipcar membership, Zipcar sends you a card in the mail. This is your membership card, but it is also the "key" that unlocks Zipcars and sends information to the company about when you pick up and drop off the vehicles.

To use a Zipcar, you can make an online registration or call it in over the phone. You select the Zipcar location from which you'd like to pick up and drop off the car, what vehicle you'd like to use, and when you will be using it. Then, you show up at the designated time and unlock your chosen car with your membership card. You must pick up and return the Zipcar from the same location, and the company is very (very, very, very) strict about retuning the car on time.

While you never need to see or speak to another human to reserve and use a Zipcar, members are held responsible for a strict code of conduct when using the cars. This ensures that your car will be there for when you've reserved it and will always have at least a quarter tank of gas (usually much more).

Prices

The cheapest plan (and the best for infrequent drivers like me) cost $50 per year for the membership. The smallest cars go for $9.25 per hour on weekdays and $9.75 per hour on the weekends. Fancier and larger cars are a little more expensive.

If you know you'll be driving on a regular basis, Zipcar also offers plans for frequent drivers. Again, the membership price is $50 annually. Paying anywhere from $50-$250 per month upfront will get you a discount on the hourly rate, and any unused money for a particular month will rollover to the next starting at the $75 per month plan.

All plans also come with a lifetime $25 application fee. Gas and 180 miles per day are included in the rental price, and drivers are automatically insured.

If you plan to use Zipcar outside the Chicago area, check the website for local hourly rates at www.zipcar.com.

Availability of Vehicles

If I try to reserve a Zipcar in Chicago at 5:00 pm on a Friday night for 6:00 pm, I might not get my first choice location, vehicle or time slot. Peak times can be competitive for Zipcar reservations and it helps to plan ahead if you've got a hot date or absolutely must haul something at a specific time.

However, I've never tried to reserve a car and failed completely. I have made extremely last-minute reservations to take cats to the vet or for a spur-of-the-moment massive grocery trip, and I've always gotten a vehicle and never had to go far to get it. Zipcar has locations in parking lots and alleys all over Chicago, usually within walking distance of anywhere I've lived. Even when I lived in an economically depressed neighborhood where Zipcar members were few and far between, I never had to go more than a mile and a half to get a car.

Company Policies

Although using a car-sharing service in a big city like Chicago can feel anonymous, Zipcar has policies in place to protect individual drivers and keep things running smoothly.

If your Zipcar is not there at the time your reservation begins, Zipcar guarantees that you will be sent a cab to take you to another Zipcar in the area. If the vehicle you've reserved is damaged in any way, you are supposed to call to report the damage so that you aren't charged for it (if you're lazy and the next person calls instead of you). Should you damage the car while it is in your care, Zipcar has an insurance policy that covers you. You are responsible for the deductible if the accident was your fault, and you might lose your membership privileges, but you won't go broke in the process.

Zipcar also encourages members to take responsibility for routine maintenance. If you buy windshield wiper fluid to refill the tank, you can send the receipt to Zipcar to get reimbursed.

Other Zipcar Members

Every once in awhile, I have the rare treat of running into another Zipcar member when I pick up or return a car. Reservations can be made back to back, but I've never once gotten into a Zipcar that has been late, dirty, or low on gas. Zipcar members seem to handle the responsibility of car-sharing in Chicago extremely well and go out of their way to fill up the tank and clean up after themselves.

One Zipcar that I've driven on a regular basis has had the same forgotten CD book in the glove box for months, indicating that Zipcar members feel invested enough in the strangers we share vehicles with not to steal items left behind.