Zipcar transforms car rental industry

What started off as a small, local operation aimed at providing college students and urbanites with inexpensive hourly car rentals, has now grown to such proportions that this concept is transforming the entire car hire industry. Zipcar is the international leader when it comes to hourly car rentals and what differentiates it most from all major car hire companies is that the price originally quoted really is all-inclusive, with no exceptions. The hourly rate-which usually stands at around $10-includes full insurance as well as gasoline. As such, there is no need to buy any type of upgrade or extra service.

Despite the fact that Zipcar was established less than ten years ago, in 1999, the firm-which first opened in Cambridge, Mass.– has now outgrown itself and has spread as far as to the West Coast of the United States. The rental firm has a loyal membership of 200,000 regular car renters, boasts a fleet of 5,000 fuel efficient cars, as well as a presence in 50 different cities. Zipcar also looks set to expand and develop even further, as record high gasoline prices and an increasing interest in environmental issues is leading an ever larger number of Americans to consider whether or not they really need more than one car, and whether it might not be more effective to simply sign up for Zipcar’s hourly rental program and hire a vehicle whenever needed to run errands or attend special events.

Larger, older car rental companies are clearly fascinated by Zipcar’s success and some are now trying to following in this pioneer company’s footsteps, by launching their own hourly programs. For example, Enterprise has already launched hourly rentals in several US cities.

www.zipcar.com