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Recently divorced, without kids to ferry around, I realized my dream of living car-free. But I still need wheels for the occasional errand or day trip. My options today are far greater than they would've been just five years ago, thanks to the marriage of Internet and voice-line technology with w ireless communications. Customers make reservations via computer or tele phone, and the company uses remote-access systems to control who can use the car when.
Latest Market Details The two biggest car-sharing companies, Zipcar and Seattle-based Flexcar, are still pretty small. Zipcar offers more than 400 cars to its 30,000 typically well-educated an d young customers in congested Boston, Washington and New York. It plans to hit at least three more US metropolitan areas in 2005 with hopes o f reaching a total of 25 North American markets within five years. Flexcar has 350 vehicles serving 25,000 members in more than 20 cities fr om Seattle to Washington, DC Both services rent cars around the clock in increments of a half-hour or longer. That's not bad when you also facto r in the insurance, maintenance and repair costs that come with ownershi p Car-sharing services also offer daily rates as low as $60, though convent ional rentals are more economical to rent for more than a day at a time. I signed up five months ago, choosing among several plans tailored toward either occasional or frequent drivers. I paid a $25 application fee and a $100 refundable membership deposit. In less than a week, I received a membership card that serves as m y key and can be used in any Zipcar city. To make a reservation, I simply visit Zipcar's Web site and am immediatel y directed to my personal Zipcar page my computer retains my logon infor mation. If a computer's not handy, I can phone in the reservation. Online, I get a list of five cars in assigned parking spaces within a few blocks of my apartment. I can also sort the list by rates or the cars I rent most frequently. I also see a round-the-clock schedule indicating which cars are available when. I always found a car within walking distance when I needed one, and my st eady road partner a Ford Focus that Zipcar has named "Focus Fabiana" liv es in a parking space a couple blocks away. During the most popular driv ing times, she could be sharing her affections with another Zipcar custo mer, leaving me to resort to a Honda a couple blocks farther afield, wit h the handle "Element Ephraim." When my time comes, I walk to the parking spot an online map tells me how to get there and pull out my membership card. I place the card over a r adio-frequency reader beneath the windshield, and the doors unlock immed iately and keylessly. Zipcar's computer had already sent a message to a hidden dashboard comput er telling the car to unlock itself only when my personal card went acro ss the reader during my reservation period. Inside my Zipcar, the key is hanging from a cord near the ignition which would appear to be an unwise place to leave a key in the city. But the i gnition unlocks only after I presented my card, so nobody else can break in and start the car. Its card unlocks the doors, but the customer enters a personal ID into a dashboard display to enable ignition a step that Zipcar handles during the reservation process, rat her than after entry. As a result, Flexcar customers can enter a car using their card anytime, without needing reservations, provided nobody else has reserved the car. After I start my Zipcar, I can drive as far as I want and refuel using a Zipcar card at the company's expense gas is factored into the hourly rat es, along with insurance. These days, I reserve cars for an extra half-hour to be on the safe side, even though I have to pay for the time if I return the car early. I lea rned the hard way about the $25 minimum late fee when I got stuck in tra ffic and couldn't get back in time. Zipcar and Flexcar can both wirelessly track when the car's engine has be en turned off to determine whether to assess a late fee. Both companies are continually refining their technologies. In partnershi p with wireless carrier Cingular, Zipcar is boosting the data capacity o f its wireless platform so it can offer Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity inside its cars. When that day comes, I hope I will resist the temptation to surf the Web while simultaneously dodging traffic. However many extras come along, fo r me the big appeal of car sharing is simple: mobility without being tie d down to car ownership. On the Net: Zipcar: Flexcar: Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. This material m ay not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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