Vermont Law School Brings Zipcar Car Sharing to Campus

New program provides convenient, cost effective and environmentally friendly option to owning a car

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt., Sept. 2 -- Vermont Law School and Zipcar, the world's largest car sharing service, today announced the launch of Zipcar's car-sharing program on campus. The service benefits the school by helping to reduce demand for parking and associated congestion while offering students a convenient, economical and environmentally friendly alternative to owning a car.

Beginning today, two self-service Zipcars - an all-wheel drive Toyota Matrix and a Toyota Prius - will be available for use 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The cars are located in reserved spaces in the upper Oakes parking lot and they are available to all staff and students aged 18 and over. Gas, maintenance, insurance and reserved parking are included in low hourly and daily rates.

Faculty, staff, and students will be able to join Zipcar for $35 and can drive for as little as $8 per hour or $66 per day weekdays and $9 per hour or $72 per day on weekends. Students also get $35 in free driving credit as part of a launch promotion. Local residents ages 21 and older can join for $75 ($25 one-time application fee and $50 annual fee). All members 21 and over will have access to Zipcar's network of more than 5,500 vehicles throughout the UK and North America.

The partnership with Zipcar is part of the school's commitment to sustainability. Vermont Law School is ranked as the number one environmental law school by U.S. News & World Report, and strives to enhance environmental initiatives by giving the community the opportunity to carpool. Vermont Law School's diverse student body includes students from cities where they use public transportation, and thus, they come to VLS without their own cars. Students at VLS regularly require transportation to shop, attend events at other area schools, and take care of their health needs, and many find their transportation options here are limited. Zipcar provides a cost-efficient, sustainable alternative to the students and greater community.

Students at Vermont Law School initiated the interest in commuting alternatives. "Students told us that they were seeking an environmentally friendly solution to their transportation needs," explains Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Diversity Shirley Jefferson. "The administration and students together researched our options and discovered that Zipcar provides our students the transportation freedom they need and is in keeping with Vermont Law School's strong environmental focus."

Zipcar provides students the freedom of car ownership - the ability to get off campus for errands, entertainment or road trips - without the associated cost and hassle of owning a car. Zipcar also eliminates hundreds of dollars in monthly transportation costs, saving members an average of $600/month or $7,200/year when compared with car ownership - money that can be put toward other expenses such as tuition and housing. The service also benefits faculty and staff who bike, carpool or ride transit to work, by giving them access to a car during the day if they need one.

"Zipcar gives students the freedom of owning a car without the significant cost," said Matthew Malloy, vice president of global university operations for Zipcar. "Zipcar also helps schools reduce parking demand and emissions, so it's a perfect fit."

Zipcar was selected by Vermont Law School based on its superior technology and operations, membership experience and track record of providing peer universities with a proven, cost effective and environmentally friendly transportation solution.

Among the dozens of colleges that have partnered with Zipcar to reduce traffic, noise and parking demands are MIT, Columbia, Georgetown, American University, Harvard University, University of Minnesota, University of Toronto, University of North Carolina, The University of Chicago, UCLA and Amherst.

For more information about how to join, or to learn more about Zipcar at Vermont Law School, visit www.zipcar.com/vermontlaw.

About Zipcar

Zipcar is the world's leading car-sharing service with 325,000 members and 6,500 vehicles in urban areas and college campuses throughout 28 North American states and provinces as well as in London, England. As a leader in urban transportation, Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models of self-service vehicles by the hour or day to savvy city residents and businesses looking for an alternative to the high costs and hassles of owning a car in the city. More information is available at www.Zipcar.com.

About Vermont Law

Vermont Law School--a private, independent institution--is ranked #1 in environmental law by U.S. News & World Report. VLS offers a Juris Doctor (JD) curriculum that emphasizes public service, a Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP) degree for lawyers and nonlawyers, and two post-JD degrees, the Master of Laws (LLM) in Environmental Law and the LLM in American Legal Studies (for international students). The school also features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center and the South Royalton Legal Clinic. For more information, visit www.vermontlaw.edu.