Zipcar sharing service comes to the University of Delaware

Sandeep Rath, left, president of the MBA Student Council, and Tara Falcone, president of the Graduate Student Senate, pose with one of the fresh Zipcars on campus, a Toyota Scion. University of Delaware photo.

The University of Delaware is launching a partnership with Zipcar Inc., to provide the campus with access to the car-sharing service. The option is now available twenty four hours a day, seven days a week to all students, faculty, and staff members, ages eighteen and older. The service is expected to take fifteen to twenty privately wielded vehicles off the road.

Gas, one hundred eighty miles per day, insurance, reserved parking catches sight of and roadside assistance are included in the hourly and daily Zipcar rates. Cars can be reserved for as brief as an hour or for up to four days. Rates on all University of Delaware vehicles commence at $8 per hour and $66 per day (24 hours).

The annual membership fee for anyone affiliated with the University of Delaware is only $35 and applicants receive $35 worth of free driving credit that applies towards their very first month of driving. University of Delaware students, faculty and staff can join at Zipcar’s UD website.

The fresh program aims to reduce parking request.

“Our objective is to make getting around campus accessible and sustainable. Zipcar supports our efforts to reduce frustration, congestion and pollution,” said William Fitzpatrick, director of supporting services at the University of Delaware. “We look forward to having them as a part of our campus community.”

Cars are self-service and can be reserved and accessed twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. University of Delaware Zipcars will be located in convenient spaces in high request areas. Four vehicles, two Toyota Priuses and two Scion xBs, will be located at Lot thirty four Morris Library and Lot 9-2 Thomas McKean Hall. Zipcar even offers an iPhone app that will honk the horn to locate a Zipcar and unlock the doors for members.

“Zipcar will give students who don’t have access to a car the freedom and plasticity to participate in off-campus activities like internships and job interviews,” said Matthew Malloy, vice president of Global University Operations at Zipcar. “At the same time, students and faculty members alike can be proud that they are reducing their environmental influence by lowering their carbon footprint and using alternative transportation methods like car-sharing.”

“For many students, shopping and running errands outside of Main Street is problematic. With Zipcar, for a reasonable cost, students can have a car whenever they need one,” said Tara Falcone, president of the Graduate Student Senate.

“This is good. As an international student I do not own a car, so Zipcar will make student life a lot lighter. We all are identically responsible for our environment. I applaud UD for taking this step in absolutely the right direction,” commented Sandeep Rath, an international graduate student and president of the MBA Student Council.

Zipcar has established partnerships with more than two hundred universities, including Yale, Notre Dame, University of Virginia and Georgetown. Zipcar utilizes a network of local vendors to service and clean its fleet.

Zipcar operates in urban areas and college campuses via the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. – From the University of Delaware

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