Benchmarks+-+Zipcar



Zipcar is the world's largest car sharing program available in Toronto (and in the States) that allows eligible drivers rent cars at affordable rates, either by the hour or day. It provides an alternative for those living in the city who do not or do not want to purchase a vehicle, but have the option of easily signing up to use these cars as needed.

The amount you pay (ie. monthly commitment fee or annual fee) is dependent on the frequency of the car usage, which reflects the hourly and daily rates. Depending on the neighborhood you wish to locate a car, there are various models to select from. Members also have the option of reserving vehicles in any of their various locations. Compared to other car rental services, Zipcar includes in their fee the gas, reserved parking and insurance. Realizing the abundance of young drivers, especially core city regions, Zipcar does not charge extra fees to members ages 21 to 25, as they've concluded that these drivers don't have greater accidents compared to other age groups.

"Members of Zipcar and car sharing programs report a 47% increase in public transit trips, a 10% increase in bicycling trips and a 26% increase in walking trips." (http://www.zipcar.com/carsharing-greenbenefits/ under "Learn More")


 * Insights:**


 * the Zipcar initiative helps takes cars off the road, offering a positive impact to the environment and community.
 * their "pay what you drive" method allows customers to save money while not having to carry the burden of maintenance fees, and yet still have option of driving various models of cars.
 * as people who adopt this service may already have a "green" attitude about the environment, alternate forms of trasport may be explored by them, ie. biking.
 * this system can be made available to the biking/cycling community, offering equipment and stations at locations where traffic congestion is prevalent
 * the wide selection of bike styles, customer/repair service at varying locations could be a worthwhile concept to be explored in city regions where population combined with car traffic is increasing, contributing to safety and environmental issues.
 * navigation of website is easy and clean, with icons that make accessibility to content succinct and clear; questions are addressed and rollovers help with user feedback and recognition