Zipcars don't live here

By Randy A. Simes, UrbanCincy | January 19, 2010

http://www.urbancincy.com/2010/01/zipcars-dont-live-here.html

 

As Cincinnati painstakingly works its way towards a more comprehensive transit network we must not forget that American cities are largely built around the automobile and sometimes having access to an automobile makes life easier. This does not mean that you must own and maintain a personal automobile though.

 

The option for those looking to live car-free or at least car-light is urban car sharing which has taken off in several American cities. In a nutshell urban car sharing compliments lifestyles that use public transit, walking and/or cycling as a primary means of transportation. In these cases the car sharing then acts as an option for trips otherwise not possible through the aforementioned means of transportation.

 

Out-of-town trips, special occasions (i.e. moving, joy ride, date), or trips to locations accessible only by automobiles are then made easily accessible for those not interesting in owning and maintaining a costly automobile. Users of car sharing programs like Zipcars have been found to reduce the number of automobiles per household and increase their usage of transit, bicycling and walking.

 

Programs such as these are often popular in high density urban locations well-served by public transit or near places with low car ownership rates like college campuses. In Midtown Atlanta alone there are 21 Zipcar locations that serve the high density urban community which is also home to the Georgia Institute of Technology and its 20,000 students. Comparatively, Uptown Cincinnati has zero Zipcar locations to serve its high density urban community and the University of Cincinnati's roughly 40,000 students.

 

If you look further to downtown Atlanta you can add in another seven Zipcar locations with two more in the Inman Park/Little Five Points area just a stones throw away. In downtown Cincinnati and historic Over-the-Rhine the trend continues with zero Zipcar locations serving a higher density urban community than its Atlanta counterpart.

 

In the rest of Atlanta another 14 Zipcar locations can be found bringing the total to 44 Zipcar locations in Metro Atlanta with one to two cars per location while Cincinnati has none. Meanwhile in Cincinnati car-free individuals struggle to make things work in a limited-bus and car only city with many more looking to have the option of living car-free or car-light.

 

The number of American cities that boast public transit systems comprehensive enough to allow for mainstream car-free lifestyles can be counted on one hand. As a result car sharing programs like Zipcars play an instrumental role in the process of creating a lesser demand for personal automobiles. And it seems to me like Cincinnati is a perfect urban region for such a program, and regional leaders in Cincinnati should examine establishing a local carsharing program as has been done in cities like Philadelphia and Cleveland.

I would say that Zipcars, or any other comparable company, is long overdue for Cincinnati.

 

But for this: "...and regional leaders in Cincinnati should examine establishing a local carsharing program as has been done in cities like Philadelphia and Cleveland."

 

Are you implying that the regional/local government establish a car-sharing program?

In Chicago, i-go is a non-profit that offers monthly or short-term borrows for primarily alternative fuel vehicles.  So, it would necessarily have to be an expanding enterprise.

Nice writeup Randy, it would be great to see zipcar in Cincinnati.

 

That said, I've been a member for close to a year and can probably count the number of times I've used it on one hand.  Most other members I know are the same way.  It's great for quick errands, but for anything over a 3-4 hours, I still tend to go with a traditional rental company.  It is a great service though, and at $50 a year, it's not a huge loss if I rarely use it. 

 

My biggest issue is that they offer only a handful of Prius and similar models at $7-9/hr which are constantly booked.  Meanwhile, there are hundreds of lots full of $11-15+/hr bmw's, convertibles, etc that no one ever wants or needs.  I wish they would respond to this by offering more (if not nothing but) smaller, cheaper cars and just get rid of the sportier and more luxurious models. 

 

The convenience factor is phenomenal though, at least in theory.  I can pull up the app on my phone, reserve a car, go across the street, unlock the car with my phone or my card, jump in and go (with free gas and insurance included).  Unfortunately, because they fill their lots with the more expensive cars, 99% of the time, it's cheaper and just as quick to jump in a cab/bus/train and not worry about parking wherever I'm going.

I agree with CiNYC. I was a member of Zipcar for about a year after I moved to NYC, but used the service very rarely. I ultimately ended up canceling my membership when I could no longer justify the yearly fee. Zipcar is good for quick errands, but given how long it takes to drive anywhere in NYC, there's really no such thing as a "quick errand", and I found it very difficult to find available cars at the times I needed. The cost of renting a Zipcar for a full day is roughly comparable to going through a traditional rental car outfit, but Zipcar's mileage restrictions make it difficult to use Zipcar for anything like a road trip outside the city. Nowadays, if I need to rent a car, I just make a reservation through Hertz.

 

Edited to add: None of the above should be construed to imply that I don't think Zipcar or a similar service wouldn't be welcome in Cincinnati. If Zipcar feels they can make a few bucks by establishing a Cincinnati presence, then more power to them.

But for this: "...and regional leaders in Cincinnati should examine establishing a local carsharing program as has been done in cities like Philadelphia and Cleveland."

 

Are you implying that the regional/local government establish a car-sharing program?

 

I'm not implying anything with that statement. I'm saying that regional leaders should look into establishing a locally managed program.

 

If "regional leaders" is tripping you up then let me clarify.  I mean people in leadership positions in our region...this could be political leaders, corporate leaders, spiritual leaders, I don't care really.  I just want someone in a position of leadership that has the clout to get something like this done to step up to the plate.

 

To me someone from the Regional Chamber or Agenda 360 would seem to be a perfect starting point for helping get one started that could then be run by a savvy group of young people who understand how systems like this should work and what it would take for it to appeal to them.

Thanks for the clarification. What do you think would be the advantage of having a locally managed program run by regional leaders than having a corporate entity (e.g. ZipCar)?

^I just doubt the likelihood that Zipcar would start up an operation here.  They tried one in Columbus based around the nation's largest university and its 50,000 students at Ohio State, but even that wasn't enough to keep them around.  And with Zipcar being basically the only show in town for car-sharing companies now, it just seems like a better approach to go with a locally run program.

Thanks for the clarification. What do you think would be the advantage of having a locally managed program run by regional leaders than having a corporate entity (e.g. ZipCar)?

 

Like I said.  More like i-go.

The local non-profit alternative to Zipcar in SF is City Carshare.

 

http://www.citycarshare.org/

 

A perfectly fine model to be repeated elsewhere IMO.  Everyone I know that uses it is happy with it.  The main factors for me in choosing zipcar over city carshare were a) convenience (and sheer number) of car locations and b) lower annual fees since I rarely use it anyway.

Well, Zipcars have been at UC for over a year now and it appears that six more cars are now living downtown.  Cheers!

Very nice! I read Cleveland (and lots of other places) has not been very successful so far with carsharing. Hope Cincy can avoid those pitfalls. So far, so good, apparently.

A friend of mine helped develop a carsharing network (think Couchsurfing for rides) while studying at DAAP. Not sure if it will ultimately take off, but they have had some success in the New York City metro due to the devastation/gas issues related to Sandy. Possible opportunity for carsharing (especially around holidays, etc when you travel longer distances).

 

http://rootless.me/

Facebook Page

 

(FYI: my browser at work [iE 8] doesn't show the website perfectly, but when I used Safari and Chrome on my personal computer it works well)

ZipCar cruises into downtown Cincinnati

 

http://www.kypost.com/dpps/news/region_central_cincinnati/downtown/ZipCar-cruises-into-downtown-Cincinnati_8012258

 

CINCINNATI - The car sharing company ZipCar arrives in downtown Cincinnati Thursday.

 

Six of the vehicles will be parked in designated spaces downtown. To use them you need to create an account with ZipCar and reserve the time you need a vehicle.

 

East 12th Street and Vine Street

East Court Street and Walnut Street

Garfield Place and Race Street

 

 

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Also:

 

http://www.wlwt.com/news/local-news/cincinnati/Zipcar-to-begin-service-downtown/-/13549970/17415450/-/87l0rxz/-/index.html

^I just doubt the likelihood that Zipcar would start up an operation here. They tried one in Columbus based around the nation's largest university and its 50,000 students at Ohio State, but even that wasn't enough to keep them around.  And with Zipcar being basically the only show in town for car-sharing companies now, it just seems like a better approach to go with a locally run program.

 

Hey Rando.  Remember this???^^^

^ Ha! The following post should have been re-titled: "Zipcars Now Live Here"

 

Anyway... this article does have an interesting disclosure in the bottom paragraph about city vehicles:

 

Zipcar Brings Car Sharing to Downtown Cincinnati

 

Yesterday, Mayor Mark Mallory (D) announced that Zipcar was bringing its car sharing service to downtown Cincinnati and Over-the-Rhine.  ”Partnering with Zipcar here in Cincinnati is an excellent opportunity to reduce congestion and parking demand, save people money, and provide access for people who would otherwise not be able to go about their day-to-day activities,” Mayor Mark Mallory said.

 

Until recently, Zipcar had only been available in big cities with more comprehensive mass transportation options; however Zipcar began testing its service with UC students and faculty starting last year. The initial service has blossomed into the full service being announced today.  Three “pods” of two cars each will be located in both neighborhoods as well as the two University of Cincinnati locations.

Its pretty sad that 4 years after ZipCar introduced service here it has not expanded.

 

And who knows if we will ever get Car2Go.

Uber and Lyft have kind of made the short-term car rental market obsolete. Now you can pay less and have someone else pick you up and drop you off.

 

You can still get a standard rental car for under $40/day if you want to travel a lot of places on your own time or go somewhere outside of Uber/Lyft service.

 

I've always thought those car rental services like Zipcar and Car2Go were pretty pricey in the first place.