Zipcar Car-Sharing program

[V_Mark]

Does anyone else use this? I just signed up. Groupon is offering a one-year membership for $30 today. I know it doesn't have anything to do with electric vehicles, but they do have some hybrids available, and with a combination of programs like this this and electric bikes, a lot of people would be able to get rid of their personal cars.

I plan on using it once a month or so to pick up large items or do things that you just can't do on a bicycle. Beats shelling out money for car payments, insurance, and gas!

http://www.groupon.com/r/uu12290828
There should be a link on there for the deal. For full discolsure, this is a referall link and I get some sort of points, but that is not why I posted. I am curious if anyone else uses this service to supplement their LEV.

 

[V_Mark]

The deal is over. Still wondering if anyone else has any experience with this service.

 

[number1cruncher]

I have used it in the Washington, DC area. It works great here and is really convenient. Seems to be a good alternative to owning a car.

 

[V_Mark]

How often did you find yourself using it? Were there any hidden costs?

 

[number1cruncher]

Actually, I work for the government and Zipcar gave us some free usage as a promo, so I don't really have any idea about cost. What I can say is that there is a great variety of cars(Mini, Mercedes, BMW and of course the usuals Ford, Toyota, etc.) and a lot of drop-off/pick-up points.

 

[MattyCiii]

I signed up, and have used it. Once, actually, but I bike a lot (not e-bike, yet...) and I also own a car. But options are good, and I figured I'd just take the startup cost/annual fee on the chin and try it for a year. I'll probably have to use it several times more this year to get a good return on investment.

I think it's worth goes up if you don't already own a car & pay insurance on it. For me it has helped me leave the car at home - take the train to where I work, use the ZipCar while in town, then take the train home. Very powerful and convenient.

 

[Ykick]

'started working in NYC about 5 years ago and enrolled in ZipCar. 'Found it quite useful for intial getting around, schleping gear to/from storage and minor trips in/out of town. After a year my needs settled into routine and I didn't need it anymore so I didn't renew.

ZipCar used to have 1/2 price rates between midnite-6am so that was my good incentive to joy-ride a bit with a convertible Mini-Cooper or some other model you might want to check out. It was also cool to try the various cars - drove a Prius for the 1st time using ZipCar.

And in large cities you coordinate a location with parking close to where you need to pickup/drop-off the car. That alone can save some parking money.

The only bad-taste about ZipCar is/was the occassional idiot who didn't return on time and left me stuck in some garage with no car. That was very frustrating and required a few phone calls to insure I didn't get charged for any time I didn't have the car.

If you need a car once or twice per month it's probably a good way to go.