Zipcar: An Urban Solution for Drivers

When Sean Luther has a date, he drives the BMW.  For his weekend camping trips, he chooses the SUV, and when he hauls bulky stuff from the hardware store he uses the pick up truck.  How does a 26-year-old single guy living in Lawrenceville afford such a lavish auto lifestyle?

Luther is a member of Zipcar, the world’s largest car sharing company--an all-inclusive service for renting cars by the hour or day.

“The great thing about Zipcar is the fleet,” says Luther, economic development specialist for Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, “you own a part of so many different types of cars.”  It gives you tremendous flexibility depending on what errand you need to run.

Luther became a “Zipster” just over a year ago when Zipcar expanded its fleet into Lawrenceville.  

“I hadn’t turned on (my car) for eight months.  I realized it was kind of silly to keep paying insurance on it,” he says.  With three Zipcars within one-third mile of his home, Luther says “it was a foregone conclusion to get rid of the car.”

Zipcar, which merged with Flexcar in the fall of 2007, now has 38 cars in 35 locations in Pittsburgh, says Steve Bishop, general manager for Zipcar Pittsburgh.
 
The company is pleased with the growth here, and plans are in the works to double the size of Pittsburgh’s fleet in the next year—“more cars in current neighborhoods,” says Bishop, as well as adding new strategic locations.

It's a Snap
The service is simple.  For an annual membership fee of approximately $75, members are issued a Zipcard.  This enables them to reserve a car for a specific time and location by phone, online or from their web-enabled mobile device.  To drive the car, they place their Zipcard over the reader on the windshield which accesses their reservation and unlocks the door.

“The keys are attached to the dash and the gas card is on the visor,” says Bishop, “There is no paperwork.”  Insurance, maintenance, parking, cleaning and gas are included in the rental fee.  

Traditional car rentals are housed in a central location and are reserved for the day, says Bishop.  In contrast, with car sharing, cars are located throughout the city—designed to be within a five to 10 minute walk.  

Judy Kelly, the 50-something principal of Judith Kelly + Associates, became familiar with Zipcar when she lived in Chicago.  After relocating to Pittsburgh and settling into Gateway Towers she says, “I found my car was staying in the garage so often it was making me crazy.”

Everyday she passed the Zipcar in her building’s driveway, and finally she decided to make the switch.  

“Zipcar is so perfect for me,” she says, “It limits expense and impact on the environment.  It’s more efficient.  It’s terrific.”

Kelly says she uses the service “a couple of times per week” for three types of occasions:  business commitments outside of downtown, routine errands (grocery shopping and doctor’s appointments) and just “hanging out” (going to the movies or visiting friends.)

Because Zipcar is in 29 states and the U.K., Kelly also uses the service when she travels to other cities—members can reserve cars in any location.  

With 250,000 members nationally, “Zipcar is the world leader in car sharing,” says Bishop, “and we’ve demonstrated the business is viable.”  

He believes today’s economy actually benefits the company:  “People are being forced to think a little differently in these tough times.  Transportation is one area that people are looking at aggressively.”

The Bottom Line
According to Zipcar, AAA research shows urban car ownership costs $700 per month (for lease/depreciation, gas, insurance, maintenance and parking).  By comparison, 15 hours of driving with Zipcar costs $100-150 per month.    

“That’s $6,000 per year that goes directly into their pocketbook,” says Bishop.

Although Zipcar’s demographic skews to professional urban dwellers aged 21 to 45, with the economy shift, Bishop says more and more people in the 40 to 60 age group are joining.

Kirk Burkley, 30, an attorney with the Bernstein Law Firm PC, is in the sweet spot of Zipcar’s demographic.  He lives on the North Side with his wife, Penny Zacharias, and baby, Virginia.  They used to own two cars, but cut it to one when Zipcar put cars in their neighborhood.

Because Burkley generally walks or takes a bus to work, he says he’ll “grab a Zipcar” when he needs to meet with clients during the day. “It’s a convenient and valuable business tool for urban living.”

He says having fewer vehicles not only saves costs, but it’s convenient: “there’s one less car to worry about…. (Plus) it forces us to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Zipcar reduces carbon emissions in several ways.  Most of its fleet consists of small, fuel-efficient cars along with some hybrids.  In addition, research shows that each Zipcar replaces 15 personally owned vehicles--over 60 percent of Zipcar members indicate they would have kept or bought a car if the service were not available.  

In addition to helping the environment and providing cost savings, Bishop says, Zipcar also helps reduce congestion and parking.  It’s a company that’s “easy to like because it delivers well on multiples levels.”

More and more, Zipcar is being used as a business option.  Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) now uses Zipcar to supplement their company car fleet.

Lena Andrews, a URA planning and development specialist, first used Zipcar when she lived in Boston.  Now she uses the service if she has a business meeting or needs to travel to a site.

“It’s fun to get to try different kinds of cars,” she says, but, most of all, Zipcar “helps Pittsburgh be a more progressive city.  It helps people live here without a car.”

Kelly affirms this attitude:  “I think having Zipcar in Pittsburgh is a very big amenity for people coming in here—from a two week assignment to performers in a road show.  It positions us in a tier of cities that is forward looking.”

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Anne Lutz Zacharias is a freelance writer who has written about shopping, kids outings and The Caring Place for Pop City.

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Captions: Lena Andrews (top); Sean Luther (with Mini); Kirk Burkley (BMW).

Photographs copyright Brian Cohen