Zipcar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Zipcar | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Founder | Robin Chase Antje Danielson |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Area served | Seattle Boston Chicago London New York Pittsburgh[1] Philadelphia Portland San Francisco Stanford Toronto Ann Arbor Vancouver Washington D.C. |
| Industry | Car rental |
| Services | Carsharing |
| Employees | 220 |
| Website | http://www.zipcar.com/ |
Zipcar is a for-profit, membership-based carsharing company providing automobile rental to its members, billable by the hour or day. Zipcar was founded in 1999 by Cambridge, Massachusetts, residents Robin Chase and Antje Danielson. On October 31, 2007 Zipcar merged with rival Flexcar.[1][2]
Contents |
[edit] Membership details
Members, called "zipsters", are able to view vehicle availability and reserve a self-service car via the internet or by telephone, in increments as short as one hour and pay only for time they reserve; up to 180 miles are included in each reservation (180 miles are provided in each 24 hour period[3]). Each vehicle has a home location: a reserved parking space located on a street, driveway, or neighborhood parking lot in the member's area.
Members are given an access card, called a "Zipcard", which will open the vehicle they have reserved only at the time they have reserved it. Each vehicle records hours of usage and mileage, which is uploaded to a central computer via a wireless data link. The location of the vehicles is not tracked during a reservation for privacy reasons but is trackable.[citation needed] The reservation includes driver's insurance, a gas card for the car, and reimbursements for typical car maintenance items like car washes and window wiper fluid refills. When someone becomes a member, they can automatically reserve and use a Zipcar in any Zipcar city.
With service in Seattle, Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Minneapolis, Portland, Oregon, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Oakland, San Francisco, Stanford University, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto, London, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Vancouver, Zipcar claims to be "the world's largest car sharing and car club provider."[4] As of May 2008, there were 200,000 Zipsters worldwide.
Individual members can sign up for one of two different plans, the "Occasional Driving Plan" and the "Extra Value Plan".[3]
On May 1, 2007, ZipCar announced that it was ending its partnership with XM Radio and the service would be removed from its cars over the subsequent two months.[5]
[edit] University, organization and business partnerships
Zipcar also offers its service for businesses (called "Z2B"), universities and organizations. These programs typically provide a discount on the annual membership fee. Additionally, the Z2B program provides discounts on Monday - Friday driving. They have also partnered with over 30 colleges and universities to provide students with access to their car sharing service on or near campus, the first being the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
[edit] History
- 1999: Concept solidified by Robin Chase and Antje Danielson.
- 2000: Company formed.
- June 2000: First Zipcars hit the road around Boston, MA.
- September 2001: Washington, D.C. office opened
- February 2002: New York City office opened
- February 2003: Scott Griffith replaces Robin Chase as CEO.
- April 2005: Zipcar partners with XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) to provide satellite radio in all Zipcars.
- July 2005: Zipcar secures $10 million in funding led by Benchmark Capital.
- August 2005: San Francisco office opened.
- May 2006: Toronto office opened.
- May 2006: General Electric's Commercial Finance Fleet Services (NYSE: GE) gives Zipcar $20 million in lease line financing.
- September 2006 Toronto market is named fastest growing new market in company history
- November 2006: London office opened.
- April 2007: Vancouver office opened.
- May 2007 : XM Satellite Radio ends partnership with Zipcar and radios will not be available in Zipcars any longer.[5]
- October 2007: Zipcar and Flexcar executives announce a merger of the two companies, with the Zipcar brand and headquarters replacing that of Flexcar.[6]
- January 23, 2008 The merged Zipcar/Flexcar reduces its fleet size in the Southern California cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, with the remaining cars left primarily on university campuses.[7]
[edit] Criticism
The costs of renting a Zipcar for more than a few hours can exceed the cost of a traditional car rental (starting around $31/day). However Zipcar provides gas and insurance (not covered at traditional rental) and is also open to individuals age 21 and up. Zipcar's official pet policy, which requires a carrier, deters many customers (others simply ignore it.) The service is often booked up around times when drivers most want to travel, such as summer weekends or holidays. Zipcar also restricts renting for more than six days, making it difficult for drivers to substitute it for their own car.
Zipcar model revolves around minimum overhead: no on-site representative, small number of bookings done online and cars are serviced once a week. As a result, car cleanliness is not on par with traditional rental companies' cars. Zipcar's phone center's service is notorious for its lengthy menus and maze a user is led through before speaking to human operators. Members, however, seem to accept that as a trade-off for the convenience and efficiency the service provides them with.
[edit] Merger
On October 31, 2007 Zipcar and Flexcar announced their intentions to merge.[1][2] The merged company will retain the name "Zipcar" and be headquartered in Cambridge. [6] Zipcar's chief executive, former Seattle-based Boeing engineer Scott Griffith, will be chairman and CEO. Flexcar CEO Mark Norman will become president and chief operating officer.[6] The merger will combine Zipcar's fleet of 3,500 vehicles in 35 markets with Flexcar's 1,500 cars in 15 markets.[8][6]
[edit] Liability insurance
Zipcar provides $300,000 per accident in liability coverage for members over 21 years of age. But, note that members, at fault or not, are responsible for the first $500 of costs related to the repair, recovery, and loss of use of any Zipcar vehicle. In other words, if the member is at fault in an accident, Zipcar's insurance will cover from $500 up to $300,000 in property damage or bodily injury. For members under 21, Zipcar provides insurance coverage at state-mandated levels. According to certain blogs, Zipcar offers only state minimums for insurance, which are a lot less than $300,000.
Insurance coverage may vary depending on the region of use. For example, Canadian members in Toronto, ON are provided with $1,000,000 in liability coverage [9]. Vancouver, BC members are provided with $2,000,000 in liability coverage[10]. Both regions in Canada also include comprehensive and collsion coverage in addition to liability insurance. It should also be noted that Zipcars travelling into Canada from the US requires members to obtain a special insurance card from Zipcar[11]. Canadian Zipcars travelling into the US do not need the extra insurance card[12].
London, UK members are covered by a full comprehensive loss, and unlimited personal injury / bodily injury liability policy. Third party liability is covered up to a maximum of £20,000,000[13]. Similar to Zipcar US, travelling abroad requires a special 'vehicle on-hire' certificate which can be obtained from Zipcar[14].
[edit] In popular culture
Zipcar's logo was spotted on a viral marketing website called whysoserious.com promoting the Batman movie "The Dark Knight," in 2007. The logo was one of the letters found in a large-scale scavenger hunt, spelling out "The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules," a riddle put together by The Joker.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Zipcar and Flexcar Agree to Merge. Press Release. Zipcar (2007-10-31). Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
- ^ a b Zipcar and Flexcar Agree to Merge. Press Release. Flexcar (2007-10-31). Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
- ^ a b Zipcar : Flexcar : Member Q&A. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ Zipcar - Car sharing, cars by the hour or day. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ a b Paul R. LaMonica (2007-05-01). Zipcar drops XM. Media Biz with Paul R. LaMonica. CNNMoney.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ a b c d Gates, Dominic. "Seattle's Flexcar merges with rival Zipcar", The Seattle Times, 2007-10-30. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
- ^ Steele, Jeanette. "Flexcar is curbing a majority of its fleet", San Diego Union Tribune, 2008-01-24. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
- ^ Johnson, Caroline Y.. "Zipcar is expected to join with rival Flexcar", The Boston Globe, 2007-10-31. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
- ^ Zipcar: Toronto, ON Terms and Conditions. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
- ^ Zipcar: Vancouver, BC Terms and Conditions. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
- ^ Zipcar FAQ: If I reserve a Zipcar in the US, can I drive out of state or in Canada?. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
- ^ Zipcar FAQ: If I reserve a Zipcar in Canada, can I drive in the US?. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
- ^ Zipcar: London, UK Terms and Conditions. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
- ^ Zipcar FAQ: If I reserve a Zipcar in the UK, can I drive it abroad?. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
