Zipcar Launches Car Sharing Program at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Zipcar Inc., the world’s largest car-sharing service, and The University of Alabama department of transportation services have announced the launch of  Zipcar’s car-sharing program on the UA campus. The first car-sharing program in the state of Alabama, the service will help the University reduce demand for parking and associated congestion while offering students a convenient, economical and environmentally friendly alternative to owning a car.

Zipcar formally launched the program today at the Ferguson Center Plaza on the UA campus, giving students, faculty and staff a chance to sign up for membership, observe how the technology works, and hear from Zipcar and UA representatives. Beginning today, six self-service Zipcars – two Toyota Matrix’s, two Scion xB’s, one Toyota Prius and one Honda Insight Hybrid– will be available for use 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The zipcars will be located in reserved spaces in three campus locations: Second Street between Marr’s Spring Avenue and McCorvey Drive, the parking lot between Rose Towers and Riverside Residential Community, and the parking lot in front of Tutwiler Hall. The Zipcars are available to all students, faculty and staff ages 18 and over. Gas, maintenance, insurance and reserved parking are included in low hourly and daily rates.

Faculty, staff, and students may join Zipcar for $35 and can drive for as little as $8 per hour or $66 per day weekdays and $9 per hour or $72 per day on weekends. Local residents ages 21 and older may join for $75 ($25 one-time application fee and $50 annual fee). All members 21 and over will have access to Zipcar’s network of more than 6,500 vehicles throughout the UK and North America.

The partnership with Zipcar fits with UA’s focus on sustainability and parking/congestion management.

“Transportation issues, including emissions and parking infrastructure, are major contributing factors in sustainable development and operations,” said Ronnie Robertson, director of transportation services at UA. “With Zipcar, we enable our students to have access to a car without having to bring one to campus. This should help us reduce demand for parking, lower emissions and help students save money.”

“Whether you have a car on campus or not, Zipcar is a great addition to UA and brings more convenience to our students. We are excited to see this new service being brought to campus and we look forward to the possibility of expanding the program in the future,” said UA Student Government Association President Steven Oliver.

Zipcar provides students the freedom of car ownership – the ability to get off campus for errands, entertainment or road trips – without the associated cost and hassle of owning a car. Zipcar also eliminates hundreds of dollars in monthly transportation costs, saving members an average of $600 a month or $7,200 a year when compared with car ownership – money that can be put toward other expenses such as tuition and housing. The service also benefits faculty and staff who bike, carpool or ride transit to work, by giving them access to a car during the day if they need one.

“The University of Alabama is taking a leadership role in the state by offering car sharing to its faculty, staff and students,” said Matthew Malloy, vice president of global university operations for Zipcar. “At a time when people are increasingly concerned about the environment and the economy, UA is offering a solution to both issues. We look forward to helping them grow their campus program.”

Zipcar was selected as The University of Alabama’s car-sharing partner based on its superior technology and operations, membership experience and track record for providing peer universities with a proven, cost-effective and environmentally friendly transportation solution.

Among the dozens of colleges that have partnered with Zipcar to reduce traffic, noise and parking demands are Brown, MIT, UCLA, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, USC and Yale.

To join, or learn more about Zipcar at The University of Alabama, visit www.zipcar.com/ualabama.