Car-sharing service aims to expand
Car-sharing service Zipcar teamed up with Ford Motor Company to expand its services and reach out to college students.
Zipcar added an additional Ford vehicle on its list of cars available for rent and has begun offering a $300,000 grant program to student organizations.
Zipcar is a national service that allows people to rent a car for an annual membership fee of $35. Members also pay an hourly or daily rental fee of $8 an hour or $66 per day, according to the Zipcar website.
The service, offered to students, faculty and staff at Syracuse University since 2007, provides insurance and gas money for users as well, said Al Sauer, director of parking and transit services at SU.
To use Zipcar, students must register their information and license on the website, Sauer said. Students must also enter the date and time they want to register the car. The Office of Parking and Transit Services confirms students’ identification, and students are then given a card to access the vehicle, Sauer said.
Although Zipcar offers many cars across the United States, the cars at SU are more limited, Sauer said. Students can rent Mazda 3s, Ford Fiestas, and cars that are fuel-efficient, small and high on gas mileage. There are seven Zipcars on campus for students to use, Sauer said.
Recently, Zipcar added the Ford Focus compact car to its list of available cars for people to rent, according to an Aug. 31 USA Today article. The addition, according to the article, is an attempt for Zipcar to reach out to more tech-savvy college students.
Zipcar officials could not be reached for comment.
Ford and Zipcar started the ‘Students with Drive’ grant program, which gives $300,000 in Zipcar memberships and driving hours to college students who are ‘going to make a difference in their world — whether on campus or within the greater community,’ according to an Oct. 4 press release.}
Student organizations can apply for the grant program through a Facebook page. Each month through April, five organizations will receive $5,500 in Zipcar credits for memberships and driving, and 10 runner-ups will each get $1,000 in Zipcar credits, according to the press release.
Each of the winners also has a chance to win the grand prize — an additional $5,000 in Zipcar credits, $10,000 for the student organization and $10,000 for their school, according to the release.
Sauer said 1,100 students and 35 staff and faculty members rent from Zipcar. He said the Office of Parking and Transit Services has yet to receive any complaints about the service.
Kaycie Miltenberger, a junior political science and public relations major, said she felt stuck on campus until she discovered Zipcar her freshman year.
‘You come to college and you’re used to having this freedom to drive, and then I came here and I felt trapped,’ she said.
Miltenberger said she feels she has benefited greatly from the service.
‘It allows me to get off campus when I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to,’ she said.
Chris Nemetz, a sophomore sociology major, said overall, he is happy with the service but wishes the campus had more cars to offer. Nemetz said because members have to sign up to rent a vehicle ahead of time, it is hard for him to find a vehicle for last-minute errands.
‘You don’t really plan to go to the grocery store a week in advance,’ he said.
Still, Nemetz said the service is especially beneficial for students.
‘It’s really cheap, and it pays for gas and your insurance,’ he said. ‘I just wish there were more cars to be used so that you can use them whenever you want.’
Published on October 4, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Contact Stephanie: snbouvia@syr.edu | @snbouvia
