Rice’s Zipcar program proves a popular transportation option

Rice’s Zipcar program proves a popular transportation option

BY JENNIFER EVANS
Rice News staff

Coming from transit-rich Chicago, Liz Tussey was determined to see if she could survive without a car in Houston, despite its auto-dependent reputation.

“Three years later, I’m living proof that you don’t need to own a car to live here,” she said. “But it helps to be able to use one every now and then.”

Enter the Zipcar program, a car-sharing service that was introduced at Rice in September and has become an increasingly popular transportation option for students, faculty and staff.

It’s ideal for people like Tussey, program coordinator for the MBA Program Office at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management. She rides her bike everywhere she needs to go regularly, all of which falls within about a three-mile radius of her Montrose apartment. But recently, she wanted to take a weekend trip to Austin.

“I needed either bus tickets or a car,” she said. “I did the math, and the cheapest option was to get a Zipcar for two days.” Since the cars are right on campus, it was an easy and convenient solution.

To date, 54 students and 18 faculty and staff have joined Zipcar, which with a $35 annual membership gives them access to a Toyota Prius and a Volvo S40 for $7 per hour or $60 per day — rates that include gas, insurance and reserved parking.

“We’ve had a great response to the new program,” said Eugen Radulescu, director of administrative services. “Rice needed a 30 percent utilization rate for the two cars to break even, and for the month of October, we had an amazing 34 percent.”

The service was designed for the benefit of students who don’t have a car on campus and for faculty and staff who carpool, bike or use public transportation to get to work but need a car to go off campus during the day or on business trips.

“Zipcar has been extremely convenient this semester,” said Hanszen College junior Michael Lo, who has been using the cars to go to interviews or to the airport. “I don’t have to depend on my friends all the time to drive me around.”

Matthew Wilkens, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at the Humanities Research Center, came to Rice just this year and said the Zipcar program was a major factor in his decision to not buy a car. “It means that I can commute to work by train or bike, save a lot of money and still have easy access to a car when I want one,” he said. “And I like the fact that I can get a Zipcar in other cities when I travel.”

Zipcars can be found throughout many East and West coast cities, including Boston, Washington, Atlanta, Miami, Seattle, San Diego and Phoenix. Members 21 and older can reserve them online for use when they arrive in their destination.

Caroline Massiello, assistant professor of Earth science, plans to use Zipcars during an upcoming business trip to San Francisco, allowing her to “avoid astronomical car rental and parking fees.”

She’s used the Rice-based Zipcars a couple times and thinks it’s a great program. “I was particularly impressed with how promptly students returned the cars, and how attentive students have been to keeping the cars clean,” she said.

“I think it’s a great quality-of-life perk and environmental improvement for Rice,” Wilkens said.

For more information on the Zipcar at Rice program, visit http://www.zipcar.com/rice.

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