Free ZipCar Membership + Driving Credits In Select Cities
ZipCar is a company that lets you rent cars in urban areas by the hour. Right now, they have a promotion called the Low-Car Diet to encourage people to try using a combination of public transit and occasional ZipCar rentals instead of their own car. You get a “loaded” public transit pass, one free year of ZipCar membership, and between $100-$500 of credit towards hourly rental fees. In exchange, you promise to give regular feedback and make a good effort not to drive your own car from July 21st through August 15th. Via SlickDeals.
Eligible cities include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington DC. Some examples are Pittsburgh which offers $500 in credit good for 1 month, and Portland which offers $100 credit with no indicated expiration date (I assume it’s at least good for a year).
Who should participate in the Low-Car Diet Challenge?
* Be willing to make a month-long commitment to reduce their personal vehicle use. It takes a little extra time, some lifestyle adjustments and enthusiasm to complete the Low-Car Diet.
* Share their experiences (positive or negative) by emailing LCD@zipcar.com. We asking folks to email us at least three times during the challenge.
* Start out the diet with a positive attitude. After all, dieting (even low-car dieting) can be difficult, and a starting out on the right foot will be a big help!
* Have viable transportation alternatives. Before you commit to the challenge, assess your work and home transportation options. For example, if you live in the city and drive to work everyday to a location that doesn’t have public transit, then it will be difficult to make the challenge work for you.
This would be a pretty cool experiment if you ever really wanted to see if downsizing by one car was possible. ZipCars cost roughly $10 an hour. But if you add up all the costs of your car like depreciation, gas, insurance, parking stall costs, and maintenance, you might be surprised by the hourly rate you’re already paying. Sometimes I wish I could do this myself.
But I’ve ran the numbers before, and in the end it really depends if you can depend on public transit for the vast majority of your transportation needs. This really depends on where you live and work. Coincidentally, I sold an extra bookshelf on Craiglist recently and the buyer had rented a ZipCar (Honda Odyssey minivan) to pick it up.
Find more in Deals & Offers | 6/20/08, 2:44am | Trackback
June 20th, 2008 at 7:05 am
This sounds like a great challenge, unfortunately I would not be able to participate due to my transportation needs. While my state (New Jersey) is full or private transportation alternatives, they never seem to go to the places I need to go. Because of the drastic increase in gas prices in my state, I have begun to use mass transportation more frequently. And it is much better on my wallet to spend $1.75 for the PATH than the $3.94 that I pay per gallon to drive. I think that we all should try to use public transportation more frequently. Perhaps if there is a drastic decrease in the demand for gasoline, prices will eventually go down too. But I suppose that is just basic economics in a simple economy, not very relevant to the U.S.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:41 am
One of my friends who lives in san francisco uses a service like this all the time, they park a car around you and you use it as long as you need it. Then they come and pick it up. They save a TON by not having their own car, but like you said, this only works in urban areas.
June 20th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Thanks for the heads-up! I live in walking distance to the metro, which has 2 zipcars. I’d love to give it a try and maybe even sell 2 of our 3 cars!
June 20th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I wish I could use public transportation, where I live has one of the best bus systems in the country, but it doesn’t come near my house. That’s the problem with living out in the country where you can afford the house, you end up paying more to drive the 6 miles to the nearest park and ride. Years ago, when I lived downtown, I went for months without the need of a car and loved it. No worries about driving was worth the 5-7 minute wait for the next bus. The bus was so reliable for me, I only used a cab once, and that was when I didn’t know where I was going and wanted to just rely on the cab driver to get me there. $40 a month is not bad for a pass to ride as much as you want as I spend that on gas each week plus more.
June 20th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
My husband and I have been using zipcar in the San Francisco area for 5 months. We don’t own a car and have good access to transit and bicycle routes. We use the zipcar on the occasional shopping trip (i.e. IKEA) and for weekend adventures. We also used it when family were in town visiting to get to the ‘out-of-town’ sights. My favorite bit about using Zipcar is I can choose different cars depending on my needs — a mini cooper to cruise down to Santa Cruz, a mini-van when relatives were visiting or picking up furniture, a Prius for around town shopping, etc… We figure we save well over $300 per month compared to when we owned our 98 Corolla, but our lifestyle hasn’t suffered.
I would highly recommend Zipcar! But it may not be a good fit as the primary car if you have children or if your home/work is not accessible by public transport or is too far to bicycle.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Awesome! I don’t live in one of those areas, and my public transit system is small, but I think it’s a wonderful concept that will certainly spread. I will be spreading the word about it for sure!
June 20th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I read about these in the Wall Street Journal. The taxes are rising since the government has decided that these are the same as rentals and should be subject to the same taxes.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I can’t believe Palm Bay, Fla., is not on the list.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Live in seattle and work in the downtown area and my work has a business zip car account for taking trips to visit clients. Much cheaper than renting cars normally. My wife and I use zip car on occasion to rent trucks to pick up things that won’t fit in our honda. I just wish there was more of them. There use to be one across the street from my house that we would use on occasion, but it’s not there anymore which is a bummer.
June 21st, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Too bad Minneapolis MN isn’t on the list either..
I work downtown, and live about 6 miles from my work. My work already provides employees $60.00 per month towards commute/parking. They also let you purchase a “Metro Pass” bus pass that gives unlimited bus and light rail usage for a price of 69.00 per month, which means I only pay 9.00 a month (BEFORE TAX) for use of this pass. It’s really a great deal. Also, I’ve been biking lately! My building has a bike rack outside but still under the roof for rain protection.
June 21st, 2008 at 5:57 pm
i absolutely love zip car.
anyone can drive so long as they have a license… and it doesn’t even have to be an american one!
anyhow. love the concept. wish it goodluck.
June 21st, 2008 at 9:23 pm
I had a trial membership to CityCarShare last year to use for job searching in areas out of San Francisco. For a few hours to drive to Santa Clara, it was $60! I didn’t get there any faster because I still had to walk to the nearest station and by the time I got into the car, out of the garage, out of the city and into the freeway, I spent the same amount of time getting there as it would via public transit. Public transit was cumbersome with several transfers but the stress of having to sitting in traffic with other cars honking and navigating city traffic was a nightmare.
The moving services on Craigslist seem cheaper and you don’t have to deal with the hassle of returning the car. I paid $25/hour for a guy to pickup some furniture from Craigslist. I gave him all the information and he did all the work. No worrying about returning the car on time or dents and damages to the rental vehicle.
Public transportation and splitting a cab with several friends might be a better idea. Or if the timing works out, walking almost always beats out sitting and navigating city traffic.
June 22nd, 2008 at 9:53 am
What an awesome idea - unfortunately this service is not available where we live. Maybe, someday…
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:37 am
Too bad I never win these things.
“This program is open to a select number of participants in each Zipcar city except London. We will be selecting up to 30 participants at random from all qualified applicants who apply before July 9, 2008.”
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I use Philly Car Share in Philadelphia and I love it! Philly Car Share has been around for longer than Zip Car, but they’re basically the same concept, except that Philly Car Share is a non-profit and since it’s been around longer, has more cars in more locations. Admittedly I also own a car, but I frequently use Philly Car Share for work. It’s very convenient to use, and you get to drive different cool cars. Sometimes renting a car for the day might be cheaper, but often not, since the price of gas is included in the borrowing. It’s a great option for those of us who live in a city.