5th Zipcar added to IU fleet

Who are Camargo, Peaker, Pritts, Irigoyen and Ivancich?

These are the names of IU’s Zipcars, some of the newest additions to IU’s campus.
In February 2009, IU collaborated with Zipcar to bring four community cars to Bloomington. However, a fifth car was added this fall.

Zipcar is a car-sharing service that started in 2004 in Europe. Students and faculty can join Zipcar by registering on the website, www.zipcar.com. After filling out an application, the company sends members a Zipcard, used to access the cars.

Once a car is reserved, users hold their Zipcard up to the windshield to unlock the door. The card only works during reserved times so other users cannot have access to the car, and once unlocked, the car keys are inside.

At IU, there are three locations cars can be parked: on Seventh Street across from Ernie Pyle Hall, at the corner of 13th Street and Fee Lane and in front of Campus View Apartments on North Union Street. Zipcars can be used 24 hours a day, and cars can be reserved minutes before someone plans on using it.

Kent McDaniel, executive director of Transportation Services for IU, said one of the main goals of the Zipcar is to help reduce the number of cars on campus, as well as help promote green living on campus.

“There are jams of cars during the day,” McDaniel said. “We don’t have enough room, and parking is expensive. If we use alternatives, it will help reduce pollution and congestion and promote a healthy life style.”

Richard Paisner, senior account manager for the university sector of Zipcar, said the cars are integral for a greener IU.

“Each car takes approximately 15 to 20 personal cars off the road,” Paisner said. “It helps reduce congestion as well as cut carbon footprints.”

Although Paisner said Zipcar cannot guarantee another vehicle will be added to IU’s fleet, popularity continues to grow.

“It seems to have had steady growth,” Paisner said. “The growth is strong in the first several months. There is no reason that we won’t be successful and continue to grow.”

Senior Sanchit Chhabra said he first heard about Zipcar during the summer. Chhabra has used Zipcars since then for work, grocery shopping and running errands.

However, Chhabra said he did experience some downsides to the program. The senior, who lives off campus, expressed concerns that the use of Zipcars is slightly inconvenient for those who don’t live near their locations.

Also, he said, using a Zipcar can get pricey.

“It’s a decent alternative, but it does get kind of expensive. It’s restricted to the number of miles in a day. It’s made for short distances,” Chhabra said.
 
Despite the pitfalls, McDaniel said in a press release that he has high hopes for the future of Zipcar and what it means for students.

“We’re pleased to see that Zipcar is willing to expand their fleet here for the beginning of the fall semester,” McDaniel said in the release. “We hope they will be able to add even more cars before the end of the year.”