ssullivan Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 In this morning's Chronicle:Rental venture sees a car-sharing futureZipcar offers option of paying by the hour or the day as it takes concept to Rice studentsBy BRETT CLANTON Copyright 2008 Houston ChronicleAug. 26, 2008, 10:44PMCar sharing. Two words that still sound a little foreign when used together in Texas.Yet on Tuesday, a Massachusetts firm called Zipcar made its debut in the state with a car-sharing service at Rice University.The full article is here on the Chronicle website.I'm thrilled to see ZipCar branching out into Texas, and hope they'll expand beyond this initial location on the Rice campus. The article says they're considering other locations, including the Texas Medical Center, Downtown, and UH. Services such as ZipCar are a key step in making Houston more livable for residents who choose not to own a car. I think it would also be great if ZipCar provided cars at some points adjacent to MetroRail lines or Transit Centers. They do that here in Atlanta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahiki Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 In this morning's Chronicle:The full article is here on the Chronicle website.I'm thrilled to see ZipCar branching out into Texas, and hope they'll expand beyond this initial location on the Rice campus. The article says they're considering other locations, including the Texas Medical Center, Downtown, and UH. Services such as ZipCar are a key step in making Houston more livable for residents who choose not to own a car. I think it would also be great if ZipCar provided cars at some points adjacent to MetroRail lines or Transit Centers. They do that here in Atlanta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desirous Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Awesome! What a great idea. I also think a bike-rental-sharing program like they have in Paris would work great at Rice and UH. I have a bunch of pictures of the bike rental stations in Paris; I'll post them when I have more time...Rice, yes. UH, maybe in 10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 ZIP Cars came to my area about five years ago and have absolutely exploded in numbers. They used to be parked in one or two parking garages, and now I think there's probably 20 or 30 locations within five miles.I would use them if not for the $75 membership fee. To compete, the local rental car companies (Enterprise at least) offer $8.95/hour rentals with no membership fee, so that's what I use for trips to the far suburbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 ZIP Cars came to my area about five years ago and have absolutely exploded in numbers. They used to be parked in one or two parking garages, and now I think there's probably 20 or 30 locations within five miles.I would use them if not for the $75 membership fee. To compete, the local rental car companies (Enterprise at least) offer $8.95/hour rentals with no membership fee, so that's what I use for trips to the far suburbs.I first noticed it on my trip to Chicago by the HOB there and saw someone getting into the car as I was walking up to take a picture. They would be a nice addition, particularly in Midtown and Montrose. I don't think there would be a massive expansion until the rail lines get built out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssullivan Posted August 27, 2008 Author Share Posted August 27, 2008 I would use them if not for the $75 membership fee. To compete, the local rental car companies (Enterprise at least) offer $8.95/hour rentals with no membership fee, so that's what I use for trips to the far suburbs.I guess it just depends on how often you use it and how convenient ZipCar is compared to a traditional car rental. With Enterprise's hourly rentals I assume you still have to pay for gas? And of course a regular rental company is going to charge extra if you want any insurance.I personally despise Enterprise and consider them to be the summiest of the scum of rental car agencies, but to each his own. I'd personally be happy to pay $75 a year to ZipCar to be able to pick up a car when I needed it to avoid Enterprise. But again, that's just my opinion and they do a big business so obviously others don't share my opinion of them.In any case, I'm still glad to see this type of service coming to Houston and hope it will take off. I know they've done quite well in many other cities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 I guess it just depends on how often you use it and how convenient ZipCar is compared to a traditional car rental. With Enterprise's hourly rentals I assume you still have to pay for gas? And of course a regular rental company is going to charge extra if you want any insurance.They're both equally convenient to me (two blocks either way), but I hardly ever use it -- maybe once every other month, so that's why I stick with the rentals -- I figure I'd have to rent once or twice a month to make the fee worth it. You are correct about gas and insurance.I personally despise Enterprise and consider them to be the summiest of the scum of rental car agencies, but to each his own.I guess that's why you haven't used your Enterprise HAIF moderator discount yet!The only times I've been tempted to use ZipCar is on Sundays when Enterprise is closed and the Hertz across the street only has limited hours. Most of my friends use ZipCar and they all rave about it. Maybe it's time to drink the Kool-Aid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssullivan Posted August 28, 2008 Author Share Posted August 28, 2008 I guess that's why you haven't used your Enterprise HAIF moderator discount yet!Well, that, but it's also mostly due to the fact that at work we use a different company for our business travel, which is almost every week for me. And I earn tons of free days with that company to use for my personal travel because of my work travel. I usually have 25-30 free rental days a year at my disposal, so I manage to not pay for a rental car that's coming out of my pocket very often. Unfortunately they aren't transferable to my friends and family, and every year I usually have a few free days that go to waste because they expire before I can use them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 More from Rice:Faculty, staff and students 18 and older can join Zipcar for $35 per year and gain access to the two cars -- parked in the Baker College-Housing and Dining Lot -- for $7 per hour or $60 per day. These rates include gas, insurance and 180 free miles per reservation. New Zipcar members get a $35 driving credit.The service was designed for the benefit of students who don't have a car on campus and for faculty and staff who carpool, bike or use public transportation to get to work but need to use a car to go off campus during the day. Although Zipcars can be found throughout many East and West Coast cities such as Boston, Washington, D.C., and Portland, Ore., these will be the first Zipcars in Houston and in Texas.http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.as...EW&ID=11382 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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