Posted November 30, 200519 yr i saw this in the nytimes today and remembered we have talked about zipcars, so here is more: A key card passed over a sensor allows renters to open the car doors. Zipcars can be picked up at parking spots marked by signs. Gabe Klein of Zipcar with a map of car locations in Washington. By the Hour, Your Chariot Awaits By VIKAS BAJAJ Published: November 30, 2005 WASHINGTON - For a while, Gabe Klein could easily keep track of every car in his territory simply by sticking pins on the wall-size map of the Washington metropolitan area in his office. No longer. "It was nice to have a visual on the wall when we had 25 or 30 cars, but not with 200 cars in 130 locations," said Mr. Klein, a regional vice president for ZipCar, one of two companies trying to succeed at providing a relatively new service of short-term auto rentals in urban centers. link: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/30/business/30rent.html?8hpib
November 30, 200519 yr Folks, as a graphic designer who goes through hundreds of photos a year - one word of advice: if you are having your photo taken where your hands might be visible, PLEASE make sure they aren't flaky/dry or more importantly, full of GANGRENE!!! Anyways, great article - I'd be curious to see if the mega-rental companies try to get in on the action. clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
November 6, 200717 yr A stackable Zip Car: Not sure why I can't embed the url, but here is a link to the You Tube presentation of the stackable car: http://earth2tech.com/2007/11/02/city-car-one-way-urban-transit/
November 7, 200717 yr (FTA: No way I'm taking this thing @ 70 MPH on the interstate...) MIT offers City Car for the masses A project to improve urban transportation will make its debut this week in Milan. By Candace Lombardi, CNET News.com, November 5, 2007, 12:01 PM PST Is the City Car the solution to "the last mile" problem? The City Car, a design project under way at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is envisioned as a two-seater electric vehicle powered by lithium-ion batteries. It would weigh between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds and could collapse, then stack like a shopping cart with six to eight fitting into a typical parking space. It isn't just a car, but is designed as a system of shared cars with kiosks at locations around a city or small community.
November 8, 200717 yr Folks, as a graphic designer who goes through hundreds of photos a year - one word of advice: if you are having your photo taken where your hands might be visible, PLEASE make sure they aren't flaky/dry or more importantly, full of GANGRENE!!! Well, at least it matches the logo. That's "synergy" right?
November 8, 200717 yr Perhaps we should rename this thread "car-sharing" so we have an official thread on the subject? Isn't a car sharing project starting up in the W. 65th neighborhood? "City Wheels", or something like that?
June 19, 200816 yr If Your Zipcar Is Costing More, The Taxman May Be to Blame By SARAH NASSAUER June 19, 2008; Page D1 In cities around the country, fans of Zipcar Inc. and other car-sharing companies are seeing prices rise for those jaunts to the grocery store. For that, they can blame the taxman. As car-sharing companies have enjoyed skyrocketing growth in recent years, several state and city governments have ruled that car-sharing companies need to charge their members car-rental tax. The laws are affecting customers in places such as Seattle, Pittsburgh and Chicago -- and are likely to spread to other areas soon. Write to Sarah Nassauer at [email protected] Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121383390638486797.html
June 22, 200816 yr what a freakin bummer -- that tax is horrible news. way to crush a good idea. i see smarty-pants portland dodged it, let's hope others can figure out a way to do the same. maybe users could be made part owners or stockholders & they could be like private clubs or something to get around the tax? %^*@! the big car rental companies! Perhaps we should rename this thread "car-sharing" so we have an official thread on the subject? Isn't a car sharing project starting up in the W. 65th neighborhood? "City Wheels", or something like that? ok -- good idea!
Create an account or sign in to comment