Yes, that's me, driving a Zip Car next to the Bay earlier today.
Zip is one of those innovative companies cropping up in various cities in response to the hassle and expense of owning automobiles these days.
It's easier to become a Zipster than it is renew your driver's license -- both of which I've done these past few days.
Just go to zipcar.com, sign up for your zip card, and reserve a car from any of the many locations around town convenient to you.
Then, take your zip card and scan it on the windshield of your reserved vehicle; the car unlocks and off you go!
You can rent it for any length of time.
What impressed me the most was when we got to the lot, a short walk from my house, Mariko (my rented Toyota's name) was nowhere to be seen, but there was another Toyota (named Charlesetta), and a couple of Priuses.
So I dialed 1-866-4zipcar and the friendly young woman who answered simply reprogrammed Charlesetta to recognize my zipcard (and made sure I got Mariko's lower hourly rate, $7.78) and off we went.
Think about it. If you lead an orderly life, you do not really need a car 24 hours a day. Today, for example, I only needed Charlesetta for 2.5 hours, so that's all I paid for. (Gas, insurance, etc., is included in the price.)
Next time, maybe I'm gonna rent a Mini named Me...
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1 comment:
What a great idea!
This is the sort of entrepreneurial thinking that fuels progress in our great country. Almost no one finds “public” transportation attractive, so this is a niche with value for a lot of folks. Someone found it and figured out how to tap into it; the customer is the ultimate winner.
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