Zipcar rents vehicles by the hour
By Neha Jaganathan
Oct. 22, 2009 10:42 p.m.
The experience of being a car owner in Westwood is generally accompanied by stories of hassles and parking tickets.
In response, Zipcar, a car-sharing company, has worked with the city of Los Angeles to provide hourly rental cars in street parking in the communities surrounding UCLA and USC.
Zipcars were available in Westwood for the first time in September, and a total of 12 cars have been added to streets near the two college campuses, according to a press release by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s office.
They were previously only available in various campus locations, including campus parking lots and near the dormitories.
According to the press release, the addition of Zipcars to L.A. streets should also decrease traffic congestion and improve the environment by reducing the number of people who need to have their own cars.
To use a Zipcar, drivers are required to pay an annual membership fee and then pay for each hour they use the car.
Sydney Heller, a third-year mathematics student, said that although he has not used the service recently, he used Zipcars frequently when he lived in the dorms.
“It’s convenient because … you don’t have to pay for parking, and you don’t have to pay for insurance,” Heller said.
“Zipcar users, on average, typically save about $600 a month,” said John Williams, a spokesman for Zipcar.
“Car-sharing is one aspect of the alternative programs offered by the department,” said David Karwaski, planning and policy manager for UCLA Transportation Services.
Other options to reduce the amount of cars occupied by single riders include trip cabs and reduced-fare transit passes.
Karwaski said the university is subject to certain regulatory requirements through the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Karwaski said the district has a rule that requires large employers, including the university, to work to reduce the amount of solo commuters.
Zipcars are one aspect of the university’s effort to comply with this regulation, and Zipcar drivers generally also utilize other types of public transit.
According to a national study conducted by the organization, each Zipcar results in 15 to 20 fewer cars being driven, Williams said.
Heller said he used the car-sharing service to buy large purchases or go to restaurants outside of Westwood Village.
“I was hesitant to take it somewhere like the beach because you pay by the hour.”
He said other disadvantages of Zipcar include not always having access to a Zipcar on short notice or having to walk a long distance to get to the car.
“The disadvantage being … it’s not yours,” Heller said.
But universities are ideal for a car-sharing service because of the diversity in car share users present, Williams said.
“What’s great about a university environment is there are different types of people who might use (Zipcars) at different times of the day.”
While university employees generally need a car during the day, students are more likely to use them on weekends and at night, he said.
