Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Zipping around Boise

Hooray! Zipcar is coming to Boise! I thought it would take far longer for the car-sharing service to arrive here, but through a partnership with Boise State, it's here now. Zipcar has citywide programs in only 14 cities, but it turns out that it's also on more than 100 campuses nationwide, now including BSU.

Zipcar is starting small in the City of Trees, which is probably a good idea. There are only four Zipcars parked on campus, but I'm sure that if demand is high, they'll add more. Membership is available for $35 for BSU students, faculty, and staff; community members can join for $50 a year.

For those who don't know, Zipcar is perfect for people who do not own a car, or who need an extra vehicle from time to time. Say you only need a car once a week to run some errands, or for a day trip or overnight to McCall. At $8 an hour ($9 on weekends) or $66/day - including insurance, gas, and 180 free miles per 24 hours - it sure beats owning a car for people who only need or want to drive occasionally. Since gas is included, it's probably cheaper than traditional car rental for close-by overnight trips - plus these are sweet rides, like a roomy Scion xB or Toyota Prius.

I'm not sure how often I'll use Zipcar, but as a BSU-area resident with an 11-year old car that I share with my daughter, I plan to become a community member and check it out for some road trips. I predict they're going to need to add more cars before too long!

2 comments:

Cindy Salo said...

Zip cars sound perfect. I was without a car for the first couple years after moving to Boise. I usually got around fine on foot or bus and a lovely couple, who both owned taxis, helped me when I needed to go farther, earlier/later, or with more stuff. If I were without a car now I would probably "Zip" rather than taxi...although I would miss the chance to meet "my" taxi owners, Senada and Dennis.

Brian said...

Zipcars? Having been bestowed male DNA at birth, I found zipguns a fascinating hobby. Well done.

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