Note to media: For information on a Zipcar demonstration, please see the end of the release.

Zipcars are coming to UNC campus in effort to improve traffic flow, increase convenience

CHAPEL HILL -- They are distinctive in shape, memorable in name and easy to use – but the most impressive characteristic of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s new Zipcars is their potential to improve traffic flow and increase convenience for their users.

Starting Wednesday (Jan. 7), the UNC campus will be home to four Zipcars, all new silver Volkswagen Beetles (and named Beetle Basil, Beetle Bacall, Beetle Basie and Beetle Beryl), that members may access on an hourly basis. The fleet of Zipcars will provide UNC students, faculty and staff an alternative to bringing personal vehicles to campus.

Zipcar, a self-service car company founded in 1999, has a presence at universities including Princeton, Harvard and Boston universities. Aside from Chapel Hill, the company has operations in New York-New Jersey, Boston and Washington, D.C.

Weeks before the cars came to UNC, campus departments and individuals had expressed interest in signing up, said Debby Freed, UNC’s transportation demand management coordinator.

"The departments are excited because they won’t have to pay for a service vehicle for occasional errands or use their employees’ personal vehicles. Zipcar gives them a whole new option for doing campus business."

Faculty and staff who don’t bring their cars to campus have expressed interest in the expanded ability to run errands during lunch, she added.

"I think that particularly in this environment, the program stands a great chance of taking off," Freed said. "It will not only help better manage our already over-taxed traffic and parking situation, but it will provide a valuable amenity to our students and staff as well as improve the quality of life in the area.

"We chose Zipcar because of its successful programs with other universities, its technology and advanced Web-based reservation system."

Zipcar is designed to provide short-term access to a car when public transportation, walking or bicycles is not practical. Usage rates for the UNC community are $5 an hour, which includes 125 free miles per reservation, per day with a maximum daily rate of $80. If the car’s gas gauge goes below one-fourth of a tank, a special card allows the user to re-fill the tank.

The annual membership fee of $20 is converted into driving credit if used within 30 days. Zipcar members make reservations online, walk to the closest available Zipcar location, unlock the car with a Zipcard and drive away. Members have access to use Zipcars in other cities when they are traveling.

UNC locations will be:

• The McCauley parking lot, at the corner of Pittsboro and McCauley streets.
• The CG parking lot (near UNC Hospitals), across Manning Drive from the Cardinal parking deck.
• The Swain parking lot, right off Cameron Avenue and next to Swain Hall.
• The Bynum Circle, right off Cameron Avenue and accessed on foot by walking through Polk Place and the sidewalk along Bynum Hall.
  

An on-board computer tracks all usage information, and billing is automatically linked to the member’s credit card. Only the member who has made the reservation may use the car, Freed said.

UNC could potentially add a wide variety of Zipcars to its mini-fleet, such as trucks, minivans and a range of mid-sized and compact cars, she added.

Those interested in becoming a Zipcar member must be at least 21 years old and meet Zipcar’s safe driver criteria.

The Zipcars are a supplement to the UNC Commuter Alternatives Program; individuals do not need to be registered for CAP to join the Zipcar program, said Freed. CAP, formed in 2002, provides incentives to commuters to use transit, park and ride, bike or walk. The program recently received a major national honor: designation as a 2003 Best Workplaces for Commuters by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

For more information on Zipcar, click on http://www.zipcar.com/unc/.

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Zipcar demonstration for members of media: Freed will offer a demonstration of the Zipcar to media representatives from 11 a.m. to noon Wednesday at the Swain parking lot. Members of the media may park in the Swain lot (tell the attendant you are there for the Zipcar demonstration).

Note: Contact Freed at (919) 843-4414 or debby_freed@unc.edu.

UNC News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu