Zipcar looking to spread beyond downtown, colleges

Zipcar is measuring environmental progress in the number of green-decaled cars it’s spreading through the streets of Providence.
The vehicles are central to the Cambridge, Mass., car-sharing company’s plan to usher in a more urban American lifestyle freed from dependency on the personal automobile.
Judging by the growth Zipcar has seen in Providence over the last two years, the idea is catching on.
From 20 cars in Providence when Zipcar expanded here in June 2011, opening an office on Eddy Street downtown, the company is now up to 65 cars in 25 locations throughout the city.
“Within the last year and a half, you can see exponential growth,” said Katelyn Lopresti, Zipcar’s Providence market manager. “Now we are looking to fill in gaps, getting more cars out in the neighborhoods.”
Following the model it has used in 20 cities and five countries, Zipcar is now spreading from the city center and college campuses into more residential neighborhoods.
In the last two months, Zipcar added locations at University Heights on the East Side, Hope Street on the East Side and at Johnson & Wales University’s Harborside Campus.
More cars in new parking spots are expected in Providence by the end of April, but Lopresti couldn’t say how many or where they would be.
Zipcar’s first beachhead in Rhode Island was at Brown University, where it introduced two cars in 2005.
Now it’s in a dozen local schools, including Rhode Island College in Providence, Bryant University in Smithfield, Roger Williams University in Bristol, Salve Regina University in Newport and the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.
Among the major local colleges, only the University of Rhode Island doesn’t have a Zipcar presence. Instead, URI signed with Hertz on Demand, The Hertz Corp.’s entry into the car-sharing business, and has had four cars on campus since 2011.
Although Providence is the only Rhode Island city with car-sharing outside a college campus, Zipcar has expressed interest in expanding beyond Salve Regina to Newport city streets. Acquired by car-rental giant Avis Budget Group Inc. this spring, Zipcar’s environmental mission combines with a larger corporate goal of making money.
But for Providence and other cities, car-sharing services are viewed as an important tool in feeding sustainable growth that won’t strain infrastructure and the environment with more cars.
While Zipcar rents space in private lots to park the majority of its vehicles, Providence allows the company to use on-street parking spaces for free as part of an agreement signed last June.
Although city living has become more popular in recent years, the transportation challenges that can come with it – either not having a car or a place to park one – remains a drawback for many people.
An Internet-enabled evolution of traditional car rental, car sharing allows customers to use vehicles for sporadic short trips with hourly rates and cars that can be picked up at numerous locations throughout a city.
In the case of Zipcar, customers sign up for a membership and receive a card that stores their payment information. When they want to make a trip, they reserve a nearby car online and use the card to unlock it at the specified time and place. The rental is automatically charged to the customer’s account and Zipcar covers gas and insurance.
The environmental benefit comes from making it easier for people to live in more densely settled areas, fighting sprawl, and reducing the number and use of carbon-emitting cars on the road.
Zipcar estimates that each member drives 40 percent fewer miles after joining and that each shared car takes 15 private cars off the road.
For the owners of large apartment and condominium buildings, car-sharing services can be a valuable amenity that helps draw new residents.
“I think it has been a great asset,” said Judy DeFusco, leasing consultant at the 903 Residences on Providence Place, which has one Zipcar in its parking garage. “When it first arrived I thought, ‘Who is going to use this car?’ But it … is on the go constantly.” In addition to the 903, Zipcar has arrangements with a number of large residential buildings in the city, including Avalon at Center Place, Waterplace, Regency Plaza Apartments and Westminster Lofts.
Because the market for car-share services is tied to the population of people who don’t own their own car, companies like Zipcar are big backers of public transportation.
Lopresti said the introduction of streetcar service in Providence, something supported by Mayor Angel Taveras and others, would be a boon to Zipcar.
Easily the largest car-sharing service in the country with 770,000 members, Zipcar is the only service with a physical presence in Providence.
Like a traditional car rental, Zipcar owns the cars it rents, but even newer startups, such as RelayRides, facilitate peer-to-peer car shares between private-vehicle owners through a mobile application.
A Providence search on RelayRides’ website returned about 20 cars posted for hire in the area stretching between East Greenwich, Woonsocket and Mansfield.
RelayRides spokesman Steve Webb said in an email that the company does not break out transaction figures by market but is active in Providence.
Not technically car sharing, another young company, called Uber, uses a mobile application to connect customers to existing taxis and car services.
Uber is operating in Boston and is interested in Providence, but has not gotten there yet, said Michael Pao, general manager of Uber Boston.
“There is no hard and fast metric on when to enter a new market, but the important thing is if there are enough established car services and riders to connect to,” Pao said.
As in other cities, Zipcar’s popularity with college students was a crucial part of establishing the viability of car sharing, but Lopresti said the company is now becoming more popular in broader, more mature markets.
Zipcar’s goal as it continues to expand in Providence is to spread out and cover residential areas further from downtown and the colleges, where its presence is already strong. •

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