Hmm, I'm sure they have thought if this but I want to know what happens when its my turn for the car and my shopping is in the trunk and any joe blow can come up and unlock it?
Only you can unlock the car during your reservation time, no other zipcar member can unlock the car, even with their zipcard (you get issued yours when you join - its like a regular office door/proximity card, except it opens cars) the same goes for the iPhone App, you have to sign in with your username and password in the app, and you can only control the car you have booked, during the time you have booked it.
You must leave the car empty of your shopping when your time is up. You can also extend the reservation if no one else has already booked it, if you need more time, at no cost penalty.
Awesome! This will be a HUGE hit in the major cities. People who don't own a car can now drive a car, and they won't have to rent it for an entire day. Competition with taxi cabs? Sure, but I like this!
Zip car is not new, its been running for a few years, the iPhone App is new, but is just the cherry on top of an already really amazing service.
Is anyone else thinking of the practical joke of hiring a car, then waiting till people go past and hooting the horn?
Not until you suggested it
Yes. Except you still need to use your card the first time you want to unlock the car each reservation. i.e. with only your iPhone but not your card you cannot gain access to the zipcar you've reserved... you still have to remember to bring your card, which is a bit of an inconvenience really.
I can't imagine not having my card on me, so many times I've suddenly needed a car, and been able to book it on the spot and jump in - this app makes that even easier now, and solves the one pain in the ass part of the card, you now have a remote key fob in the shape of your iPhone during your reservation.
That whole system is awesome!
Yes. Yes it is. I'm a huge fan - I've been car ownership free for 12 years now, and used to hire cars fairly regularly (about 10 times a year) from the likes of Budget and Hertz, and it was always a HUGE PAIN - long line up at the rental desk, lots and lots and lots of typing by the rental agent (even though you were there 2 weeks ago, and NONE of your details have changed) then the inspection walk around, finally able to drive it away; typically taking an hour all told to get to the rental site, get the car, then get it home again to load up and go. Then you have to do that AGAIN when you return it, line up at the desk, lots and lots of typing again, vehicle inspection with the agent, overpriced fuel if you forgot to fill up, or they stiff you on the difference, or rip you off with any excess fuel you put it, etc. etc. etc. etc. aaand all this during their office hours too - I hated it, but put up with it, cause it was still cheaper than owning and insuring my own car.
Then Came ZipCar.
And they really changed everything for the car rental model. The cars are near you in parking lots of places you already go - supermarkets, hotels, downtown - they can be rented for 1 hour. At 3am on a Sunday if you need it. Everything is paid for in that one hourly rental rate - the car, the gasoline, the insurance, the parking fee where that car lives. (not the parking where you might take it).
One usage I never could have done before, is the lunchtime downtown rental, its near where you work, you book it for an hour, and drive somewhere nice, then return back to downtown, and put it back in its reserved parking spot. For $10. All in. To park your own car there in that same lot during the day would have cost $15 in parking alone, and your spot would go during lunch, maybe from the entire lot. zip cars are reserved spaces, always near the exit/entrance.
I can go on - and on - its just too awesome, IKEA, Groceries, Ski Trips, Emergencies, Whimsies, Getting a 52" TV home from Best Buy, Being able to take it across the border, Being able to rent in any country with your existing membership, wide choice of vehicles to suit your task, mood, budget and location.......
Even if you have a car, consider joining on the cheap annual plan, there will be times it will help you out, and maybe, just maybe, you'll consider taking a short break from owning when you next trade up your car, and see how long ZipCar, Transit, Taxis, Limos, Kayaks, Your Feet and that Bicycle That Hangs in the Garage can work for you instead.
http://www.zipcar.com - I don't work for them. I would have their babies. But I'm a dude.
