So let's start from the beginning: Zipcar
Zipcar provides a dedicated fleet of vehicles throughout the city that can be reserved by members by the hour or day and then returned to the same assigned parking space at the end of the reservation time. Cars range in type from fuel-efficient Mini Coopers and hybrids to SUVs and full-size cargo vans to suit all your errand-running, furniture-hauling, and road-tripping needs. There is a one-time application fee of $25 and a few different plans starting at $7/month or $70/year. Driving rates start at $8/hour and $73/day. Gas and insurance are included, with optional additional liability coverage available. There is a minimum one-hour reservation requirement, and then thirty-minute increments thereafter.
Once you have a membership, reservations can be made online or on your smartphone with their easy-to-use app. To start your reservation, you hold your membership card over the scanner in the vehicle's windshield, which unlocks the doors. The keys are kept in the ignition, and from there you pretty much just drive it like it's your own vehicle. You can stop and go wherever you please and just have to return the car on time, in the same spot that you started from.
Unless your salary is somewhere in the realm of Bill Gates's, you probably wouldn't want to use a Zipcar to commute to your job, since you would be paying for the vehicle while it's just sitting in the parking lot all day and you're hard at work. Zipcars are best used for running errands, such as grocery shopping, where you have an idea of how long it will take, or for weekend getaways, where you can get the daily rate.
I've found that the best way to use Zipcar is to combine errands whenever possible. Since there is a one-hour minimum for reservations, it's possible to squeeze in a quick trip to the store just by adding on an additional half hour. And by taking advantage of the fourteen-minute early-entry trick, that can turn a one-hour reservation into one hour and forty-five minutes! For example, I rent one whenever I have to drop off my son at his dad's house, which only takes about thirty minutes start to finish. If I add another half hour to the beginning of my trip and get to the car fourteen minutes early (as long as there isn't a reservation just before mine), that gives me enough time to do a full grocery run, drop kiddo off at Dad's, unload groceries and booster seat at home, then return the Zipcar.
As convenient and economical as Zipcar is, it is not a perfect system, and will not work for everyone. The main complaint that I've heard from most people since Flexcar began fifteen years ago, is that the cars have to be returned to the same location. So they are not suitable for one-way trips. As I mentioned in my last blog, that "con" created a market for Car2Go, which does only one-way trips; but that is a discussion for another article. Here I have put together my personal list of pros and cons for Zipcar, which I hope will help answer any further questions that I did not already address.
Pros:
- Cars can be reserved up to a year in advance, so you know when one will be available
- Lower hourly and daily rates than Car2Go
- Variety of vehicle types allows for traveling with more than one passenger and using for multiple purposes: moving, Ikea shopping, camping, etc.
- Refer-a-Friend program: referring member and new member get driving credit
- Member benefits: discounts and/or driving credit with various local businesses
- 14-minute early access if car is not reserved before your reservation time (with no additional fee)
- Easy access and reservations with cell phone apps;
- Courtesy text messages ask if you need more time, if car is not already reserved; extend reservation with a quick text-message reply ("ext 30" or "ext 60")
- Gas, insurance, and maintenance included
- 24/7 roadside assistance
- Clean, well-maintained, newer vehicles
Cons:
- No one-way trips (but stay tuned, as they are testing a one-way program in Boston!)
- Monthly or annual fees apply, even if you don't drive
- One-hour minimum reservation requirement (but 30-minute increments after that)
- Parking fees not included during rental period (parking meters, garages, etc.)
