Go to College, Get a New Car: Top Schools Turn to Car Sharing to Improve Campus Life

Facing Higher Fuel Prices, Skyrocketing Infrastructure Costs and Transportation Challenges, Universities Partner with Zipcar to Bring Car Sharing to Students, Faculty and Local Neighborhoods

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 1 -- This winter, the hottest new trend on college campuses just might be brand new cars for all students, faculty and staff, with gas, insurance, maintenance and even satellite radio included. Zipcar, the nation's largest provider of self-service cars for use by the hour or day, today announced that four new colleges -- University of Minnesota, Brown University, Rutgers University and University of Massachusetts-Boston -- will make Zipcars accessible to their college community. These schools join 19 other universities, including Princeton, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, MIT, Boston College and George Washington University, which have joined with Zipcar to enhance college life by offering the country's leading car sharing experience.

Zipcar offers drivers more than 20 exciting makes and models, including the Toyota Prius hybrid, Mazda 3 and BMW 325i. The Zipcars parked at the University of Minnesota, University of Massachusetts-Boston and Rutgers will also be accessible to local residents and businesses, as well as the existing network of more than 50,000 Zipcar members. This marks the first time Zipcar's car sharing service has been made available to the public in the state of Minnesota.

With colleges facing challenges of limited parking, high infrastructure costs and increased traffic congestion, car sharing improves campus life by providing an environmentally-friendly and cost-effective alternative to privately-owned automobiles or traditional car rental. "Primarily, it provides the opportunity for students who don't have cars to leave campus and accomplish something they couldn't do with public transportation, such as going to an interview, running errands or getting groceries," said Jack Molenaar, Rutgers University Director of Parking and Transportation Services. "Since the service is cheaper and more convenient than owning, it will also be an incentive for students who already have cars not to bring them on campus."

At University of Massachusetts-Boston, the school has taken the innovative and unique step of turning to car sharing to reduce motor-pool costs and improve the local environment. The school eliminated 10 state-owned vehicles, used primarily by University staff, and replaced them with two Zipcars available to all staff, students and faculty, as well as all Zipcar members throughout the Boston area. Reducing the number of vehicles from ten to two immediately provided for eight new parking spaces but will also continue to decrease parking demand at the University as each Zipcar historically takes over 20 personally-owned vehicles off the road. This move by the University also creates a cleaner environment as older cars are replaced by newer, well- maintained Zipcars that have more stringent pollution controls.

"Bringing Zipcars on campus was a practical, cost-effective solution that makes sense for the University, the local community and the taxpayers," said Craig Pearson, Director of Facilities for University of Massachusetts-Boston. "Much of our faculty and staff rely on public transportation to get to campus, but then need vehicles during the day for University related business. Our Zipcars enable us to provide cars for a large number of people in an easy-to- use, affordable and efficient way."

"These partnerships are a classic example of a win-win relationship," said Zipcar CEO Scott Griffith. "Our forward-thinking university partners reduce the demand and expense for parking infrastructure, and the campus community at large gains access to a fleet of conveniently located, affordable cars."

Beginning immediately, students, faculty and staff at Brown, Rutgers, U Minn and U Mass-Boston will enjoy self-service access to Zipcars on campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week, using a Zipcard to simply unlock the door and drive. Zipcar reservations can be made within minutes or up to a year in advance through a user-friendly web-based reservation system or automated phone. Gas, maintenance, insurance, designated parking and XM Satellite Radio service are also included in the hourly and daily rates. Unlike traditional rental cars, there are no extra fees or service charges for Zipcar drivers under age 25. For more information on Zipcar's innovative on-campus programs, contact Adam Brophy at abrophy@zipcar.com.

About Zipcar:

Zipcar (http://www.zipcar.com/) was founded in 1999. Since 2000, when Zipcars first hit the road, over 50,000 consumers and business drivers ages 21+ have joined. Zipcar currently operates more than 900 vehicles in ten states including metropolitan Boston, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, DC. In July 2005, Zipcar secured $10 million in funding, led by Benchmark Capital, to begin aggressive expansion to become the country's first national car sharing service. As part of this expansion, Zipcar recently launched West Coast operations, with plans to bring its service to additional major metropolitan areas in the near future.