DOTS hopes number of campus Zipcars will double

Car-sharing firm Zipcar and university officials said they hope to double the company's presence at the university this semester, despite concerns that few students know about the option to borrow cars by the hour.

The company keeps four cars around the campus, available to registered Zipcar members who pay an annual membership fee of as little as $25 at hourly rates as low as $9.25.

The Department of Transportation Services has worked with car-sharing services — Zipcar, as well as the now-defunct Flexcar that preceded it — for five years, first providing the cars with dedicated parking spaces and, beginning this semester, allowing Zipcar vehicles to park in any student or faculty lot. DOTS also promotes Zipcar in marketing materials.

DOTS Director David Allen said he wants to make it easy for students to use the shared vehicles as an alternative to owning their own car.

"They really are a great service, especially to our resident students," Allen said.

Besides free on-campus parking, Zipcar members' annual and rental fees also cover gas and insurance. Allen said he believes the only reason the service is not more popular is because people don't know about it.

Zipcars are stored at designated parking spots when they are not being rented out. Users reserve the cars online, then use a card to unlock the car's doors. Keys and a gas card are inside.

Neither DOTS nor Zipcar would say exactly how often the four cars on the campus — two Nissan Sentras, a Scion xB and a Mini Cooper — are used. Officials said a fifth car was dropped two years ago because it wasn't being used.

Although Zipcar and DOTS would not specify how large an increase in membership or ridership would be needed to prompt the company to add cars, Zipcar regional manager Ellice Perez said she hopes the campus gets to the point at which ridership is "busting at the seams" — so much so that the company would need to double the number of cars available on the campus.

Besides the extra free parking, Zipcar also recently opened its service to drivers as young as 18 instead of 21 to boost its accessibility to students; the younger users pay an extra $10 a year.

Contracting with the car-sharing service allows students to avoid the cost and hassle of car ownership, Perez said, but convenience isn't the firm's only priority.

"Our ultimate goal for Zipcar is to reduce car ownership," Perez said. The company hopes to "get to a place where living car-free is the norm."

Perez also said Zipcar's commitment to reducing vehicle use coincides with the university's sustainability goals for the campus and wellness goals for students.

"Health benefits go along with it," she said. "If you don't have a car, you walk more, bike more."

Although Zipcar and DOTS officials are confident the service will be well received by the university community after word about the service gets out, some students aren't as sure.

Freshman studio art major Jenna Frankel had never used a Zipcar and doesn't think other students will either.

"I feel like people would rather have their own car," she said.

Sophomore economics major Luke Reider said he liked the idea of having Zipcars on the campus, but he had never heard of the company or noticed the cars parked around the campus.

"It seems pretty practical," he said, "It's pretty cheap for a car."

Zipcar is now running a promotion for university students who become registered members, officials said. After paying for a one-year membership, students can enter the code Terp50 to receive a $50 credit to their account toward their next trip.

mccarty at umdbk dot com