Last modified: Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Indiana University brings Zipcar to campus
First car-sharing program in the state will offer Hoosiers convenient, cost-effective alternative to owning a car or bringing one to campus
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 3, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University's Transportation Services today (Feb. 3) announced a new partnership that will bring Zipcar -- the world's largest car-sharing service -- to the IU Bloomington campus.
IU Bloomington will introduce car-sharing on Feb. 9. The program, which makes four hybrid fuel efficient Zipcars available to faculty, staff and students for use 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is the first of its kind in the state. Four more cars will be added in the fall.
The service will help the university manage the increasing demand for parking and associated congestion while offering students a convenient, economical and environmentally friendly alternative to owning a car. It is the first car-sharing program in the state. A special launch event is planned at Foster Quad, Feb. 9, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. A press conference will be held at 11 a.m.
Beginning Feb. 9, four hybrid, fuel-efficient Zipcars will be available for use 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The cars will be located in reserved spaces across from Ernie Pyle Hall on Seventh Street, and at the corner of Fee Lane and 13th Street, conveniently located near McNutt Quad and Foster Quad. These cars will be available to faculty, staff and students ages 18 and older. Gas, insurance, 180 free miles, reserved parking and roadside assistance are included in low hourly and daily rates. An additional four vehicles will be added next fall.
"Some people may wonder why we are bringing more cars to campus when we already have too many," said Kent McDaniel, executive director of Transportation Services for IU. "Car sharing is just another transportation-demand management tool that we use to provide convenient and quality transportation service to the campus.
"We want to create an environment at IU where parents can send their children knowing that we have the best public transit system in Indiana with the combined efforts of Campus Bus and Bloomington Transit for daily commuting needs, and we also offer them Zipcar for their infrequent and less predictable needs," McDaniel said. "We want them to know they can save money by sending their children here without a car, and we will be able to take care of all their transportation needs."
Faculty, staff and students will be able to 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. IU students also get $35 in free driving credit as part of a launch promotion. Local residents ages 21 and older also can 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 United Kingdom and North America.
For students, Zipcar offers the freedom of car ownership without the associated cost and hassle of owning a car. Like buying music by the song, today's students immediately see the benefit of paying for a car by the hour. They see Zipcar, which is consistently ranked alongside other leading brands like Google, Apple and Twitter, as a brand that understands them. Best of all, Zipcar provides insurance to students as young as 18.
"Zipcars are the key to enhancing IU's transportation system and in reducing congestion in Bloomington," says Ilya Rekhter, chief transportation officer for the Indiana University Student Association. "Zipcars provide students the opportunity to go grocery shopping and attend doctor's visits on their own schedule, while reducing the overall number of cars in the city. It's a win-win situation. Overall, working with the car-sharing committee in selecting Zipcar and planning its implementation has been a rewarding experience for IUSA, and we look forward to seeing the cars on campus."
Zipcar, which has been offering campus car sharing since 2002, now has programs at more than 150 campuses across the country, including those of Williams, Amherst and Vanderbilt as well as major universities such as Florida, UNC, Duke, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, Alabama, Arizona State, Yale, Harvard, USC and UCLA.
"As universities continue to encourage people to leave their cars at home by investing in transportation-demand management programs like transit passes, bike lockers, ridesharing and vanpooling, Zipcar provides the missing link -- access to a car on campus," said Matt Malloy, vice president of Global University Operations.
More information about Zipcar, including how to join, is available at www.zipcar.com/iub.
About Zipcar
Zipcar is the world's leading car-sharing service with 350,000 members and 6,500 vehicles in urban areas and college campuses throughout 28 North American states and provinces as well as in London, England. As a leader in urban transportation, Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models of self-service vehicles by the hour or day to savvy city residents and businesses looking for an alternative to the high costs and hassles of owning a car in the city. More information is available at www.zipcar.com. Zipcar and the Zipcar logo are trademarks of Zipcar Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
About Indiana University Transportation Services
Transportation Services exists to support the academic mission of Indiana University. It provides solutions to transportation needs including the Campus Bus Service, Parking Operations and the IU Motor Pool. Its overall mission is simply to get people to where they need to be, when they need to be there, while improving the quality of life in the Bloomington community.
