Welcome to Zipcar. Rent by the hour, not by the day. Rates include gas and insurance. Mostly downtown locations in major cities. Leverages Google Maps to tell you exactly how many cars available at each street corner. Walk to the car, hold your Zipcard to the windshield, doors unlock, and it's yours.
God knows how many times I have cursed myself for renting a car at LGA or SFO then paid for parking for the hours in Manhattan or downtown San Francisco I am sleeping. And got lost on way there. Or I have paid for a full day when I needed car for 3 hours. Or this service was available when I lived in London and chose to forego using the company car allowance and got a better apartment with the allowance.
Rates - about $ 8 an hour, $ 49 from 7 to 7 and $ 60 for 24 hours. Bit more on weekends. Don't forget - includes gas and insurance. And parking.
Business Model plus contemporary technology = innovation.
Thanks for the reminder, I've not looked at them in a year or two -- looks like they are in NYC now. Always was a pain to fly to JFK/Newark just so you could have a car. I'd much prefer to take the train from Boston and pickup a zipcar when needed. And yes, this will save my clients money also. Too bad I'm in Pittsburgh for the next few weeks -- no zipcar.
Posted by: Karl Waldman | July 19, 2007 at 07:18 PM