Berkeley CSUA MOTD:Entry 35493
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2025/07/09 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
7/9     

2004/12/30 [Transportation/Car] UID:35493 Activity:kinda low
12/29   http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=370107
        ZipCars, totally cool. We need it in CA.
        \_ Anyone here had any luck with the CityShare VW Bugs in Oakland?
           There's one parked in the parking lot near the Grand Lake Theater.
           Whoops, it's apparently called CityCarShare:
           http://www.citycarshare.org
        \_ Price is too high, average of what, 9 bucks per hour? Say you
           do an average of 2 hours a day driving, that's 18 bucks a day,
           that's like $400 a month. Only useful if you live in the city.
           For $400 a month you can buy/lease a pretty nice car. The only
           rationale is if you don't have a parking space in the city.
           Then it makes sense. Most of the commuters I know, though,
           have company parking spaces or just take BART...
           \_ City CarShare isn't designed for people who drive 2 hours a
              day, it's designed for occasional drivers.  -tom
              \_ Like who? People who travel into the city? Wouldn't they
                 just usually rent a car or just take taxis? If you travel
                 only occassionally why don't you just call a cab? The
                 ZipCars appear to require a deposit and a background check,
                 which would signal a long commitment. I just have trouble
                 with their business model.
                 \_ Consider someone who lives near public transportation
                    and wants to do home improvements.  Or is looking for a
                    job.  Or is a performer who has infrequent gigs out of
                    town.  There are a large number of niches for whom this
                    works out just fine.
                 \_ dude, chill! Point 1-- if you build it, suckers will come.
                    Point 2-- car rental is usually a whole day, and it's a
                    hastle since you need to go to the specific car rental
                    place, limited by time and unpredictable availability.
                    ZipCar interface lets you get what you reserve. Point 3--
                    cab is a good idea for really short hops but at some point
                    it gets more expensive, and besides, not everyone wants
                    to pay tips to the driver.
                 \_ CarShare is non-profit; we'll see how ZipCar fares...
2025/07/09 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular
7/9     

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abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=370107
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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www.citycarshare.org
more City CarShare lets you rent cars for $4 per hour and 44 cents per mile - including gas, insurance and reserved parking. You get 24-hour access to cars at 40 locations in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland. Make last-minute or advance reservations, online or by phone. Enjoy the freedom of driving without worrying about parking, insurance, c ar payments or repairs. Were a local non-profit dedicated to reducing the environmental impact o f driving.