The Wake

Imagine you are a student in the very near future. You wake up one morning, log on to your computer and make a reservation. You then walk several blocks, bypassing the congested traffic on Washington Avenue, the hordes of students, some carrying large grocery bags or towing heavy backpacks, waiting for any of the number of buses that serve the area, and even some bicyclists who plow through the snow banks wrapped in scarves and coats. You come to a car parked at the Washington Avenue ramp at Union Street, wave a keycard over the windshield to unlock it, start the engine, switch on the XM satellite radio to your favorite station and drive off.

This scenario has become reality at the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus thanks to Zipcar, the self-proclaimed “largest car-sharing company in North America…with nearly 900 vehicles in nine states and 28 cities.” Together with University Parking and Transportation Services, Zipcar offers three sites on campus, each with at least two different cars that are ready to be driven. There are sites on both the East and West Banks as well as one site at the St. Paul campus. Based on Zipcar’s other college locations across the country, Zipcar feels that the program will be very popular at the university.

“The typical usage of a student is around $60 to $100 per month,” says Adam Brophy, director of business development for Zipcar. The use of a student member might include “a couple hours per week, maybe a weekend trip,” he says. Brophy also adds that students are “very willing to try new ideas and are more environmentally conscious.”

Car-sharing is a self-service type of transportation that has been present in major U.S. cities for a number of years. Most services like Zipcar, require a membership that may include nominal monthly or yearly fee, as well as per-hour charges while the car is in use. After signing up with a service like Zipcar, a member generally receives an access card to the entire fleet. After making a reservation either via phone or the service’s website, the member goes to the designated parking site, which is usually a neighborhood garage. A simple swipe above the windshield unlocks the doors and enables the ignition. Zipcar also includes a fuel card inside the car that a member can use to fill up the gas tank when it gets to down to one-quarter, at no extra charge to the member.

While car-sharing is new to the University of Minnesota’s Minneapolis campus, it is not necessarily new to the Twin Cities. HOURCAR, a non-profit car-sharing program of the Neighborhood Energy Consortium (NEC) based in St. Paul, began in June 2005. The primary goals of HOURCAR are “pollution reduction, resource conservation and to improve the quality of life and clean up the air,” according to Mary Morse, executive director of the NEC.

HOURCAR currently has 11 hubs in strategic locations around the Twin Cities, 200 members and 12 cars in service. The average member of HOURCAR is anywhere between 22 and 80 years of age. Members live all over Minneapolis and St. Paul, with several living in the suburbs, according to Morse. “Some even own their own cars and need a second,” she adds.

Some locations that HOURCAR serves are the Loring Park, Uptown and Wedge neighborhoods of Minneapolis, and the downtown St. Paul area. HOURCAR also has a location near the St. Paul campus, close to Commonwealth Park.

Car-sharing programs study the demographics of cities to determine which areas would most benefit from the service. In the case of HOURCAR, it worked closely with the University of Minnesota to determine which areas in Minneapolis and St. Paul would best be served.

Both HOURCAR and Zipcar sent in requests for proposals to get the University of Minnesota contract. However, according to Mary Sienko, marketing director for Parking and Transportation Services, Zipcar was chosen because it was felt that “the components of the Zipcar program would be more appealing to a younger audience.” Such components include Zipcar’s simpler fee structure and the fact that Zipcar has been in business “since June 2000, while HOURCAR has launched relatively recently.”

Currently, the contract between the university and Zipcar includes a guarantee amount of $1500 per car per month paid to Zipcar from the university. The contract is valid for three more years.

Zipcar’s Brophy acknowledges the presence of HOURCAR and believes that having other car-sharing programs in the area only emphasizes the need for car-sharing programs like Zipcar. “Having competition is just good for the industry,” he says. “The fact that HOURCAR opened up here means that [the Twin Cities] is a good market.”

Both companies agree that car-sharing is a more environmentally friendly and affordable mode of transportation. “The more people that car-share, the better,” Morse says. She adds that 450 people could be served with the program’s current fleet, but reveals that HOURCAR does plan to expand soon, with a 13th hub to be announced later this month.

Car-sharing does seem to support a need for alternative forms of transportation at the university. Miriam Fischlein, a graduate student, inquired about Zipcar on the first day of classes at their kickoff in Coffman. She doesn’t own a car but instead relies on city and campus busses to get around. She said the chances of her getting a Zipcar membership appeared “very good, especially because I prefer to not own a car but would like to use one to go places like grocery shopping.”

“If I lived on campus, I’d probably subscribe,” says junior Ruth Johnson. After seeing a picture of Zipcar’s fleet, she added “plus it’s kind of cute.”