Zipcar: Car Sharing that Works!

Living in most urban environments makes owning a car costly and inefficient. Zipcar is the solution for people who want the luxury of a car without the hassle of ownership.

I live in New York City. Despite the millions of automobiles zooming around the city, New York is definitely not very car friendly. There are constant traffic jams and a simple trip cross town could take an hour. Free street parking can be rare and a nuisance if you forget to move the car before the street cleaner arrives. Traffic police are ticket happy and will measure the distance between your bumper and the fire hydrant. If you're only twelve feet away and not thirteen, expect a $115 ticket slapped on your windshield. Then there's the cost of gas, insurance, and maintenance. Who wants to pay for that when half of many people's incomes go to rent alone?

On the flip side, cars are great. A weekend in the country can be near impossible without your own transportation. Plus, stocking up on ten gallon buckets of food at Costco or trying to move a piece of furniture without delivery can be difficult to maneuver on the train. The cost of using taxis and car services add up.

Here's where Zipcar steps in and saves the day. As a member, you get all the convenience of a owning a car without the negative attributes. Zipcar even pays for gas!

I used to spend a fortune renting cars. I travel a lot visiting friends and family, and having a dog makes it difficult to go on public transportation if I want her with me. (Also, my boyfriend and I like to bring our laundry to his parents' house when we visit. No shame.)

Zipcar makes sense. I can get a car for just a few hours or for several days. Zipcar is also incredibly easy to use. Go online and reserve a car for a set block of time. The website allows members to see which cars are available at which chosen Zipcar location. Unless the car is parked at a garage with an attendant, you don't even need to see anyone to get the car. Beats waiting in line at the car rental office! Members receive a special card when they sign up that unlocks and locks the car you reserved by holding it over a sensor secured to the car's windshield in a small black box. The keys, gas card, and insurance information are all inside the car.

I have only encountered one problem since becoming a member over a year ago. When I went to retrieve my vehicle, the garage attendant told me the car was not running properly. I called Zipcar and unfortunately was unable to get another car at that location. Since it was the weekend, many cars were booked up well in advanced. But the Zipcar customer service was unbelievably helpful and patient. They booked another car for me at a location not too far away and paid for a cab ride to and from the new location.

As an added bonus, Zipcar has dozens of car models to choose from. Drive a cute little Mini Cooper for zipping around upstate then get a roomy Scion XB to help a friend move. There are also flashy sports cars like the BMW 325. It's quite fun to get a new car every time, but I often pick the Toyota Matrix when available.

Another factor that makes Zipcar appealing and progressive relates to health. Car sharing would have a tremendous positive impact on the environment. Using bicycles, public transportation, and our own feet most of the time produces much less pollution then each person owning a private vehicle. Plus, biking and walking are great ways to keep in shape! Hopefully, Zipcar will catch on in every city in the world.

As of this writing, Zipcar has services in Boston, Amherst, and Northampton in Massachusetts, New York City and Rockland, various New Jersey locations, Washington D.C., Chapel Hill in North Carolina, Ann Arbor in Michigan, Chicago, Minneapolis, and San Francisco. There are also two Canadian locations: Vancouver and Toronto.