Zipcar car sharing service for the US and UK markets
Zipcar is just one of those services that is a good idea when looked at from all angles. Sure, it’s tough to pull it off, however, Zipcar appear to have achieved this. Car ownership is expensive and if you have a car just for those times when you need to go somewhere and the majority of time it sits in the garage then a car sharing service might be perfect. No longer do you need to tie up money in a car and lose when you sell it, you can join a car sharing service like Zipcar and enjoy the benefits of a car without the ownership hassles. Heck, you don’t even have to worry about fuel because that’s included in the Zipcar service.
So you are wondering why this is here at Ecobye? Well, sharing a car means less cars need to be manufactured so there are material savings there. There are less cars on the road because people actually think twice about whether they need to really get a car for the trip. The Zipcar website also shows that members save money, compared to car ownership, and are then able to use those savings on other eco-friendly products that might cost a bit more than the regular ones.
There are many locations around the US and UK and membership rates vary from area to area. Fuel, insurance and all other costs are included in the hourly and daily rates. Just pickup the car, drive off and then return it when you have finished.
The Zipcar website has more information.
Europcar Greenfleet
Europcar Australia are a nation-wide car rental company. They have partnered with Greenfleet to offset the cardon emissions from their rental fleet. For each car Greenfleet plants 17 native trees and based on the average emissions this is enough to absorb the greenhouse gases a car produces in a year.
They began the program in December 2006 with the purchase of 836 new Subaru vehicles and the subsequent planting of about 14000 native trees. During the course of 2007 they bought in the remainder of their 6000 strong fleet.
Customers can also help by donating $2 each time they rent a car to help offset the emissions and help maintain a carbon neutral fleet.
To find out more about Europcar’s Greenfleet program visit the Europcar website.
