Yesterday we decided to take a break from hiking and biking, and took a nice drive out to wine country to pick up some wine we had on order at Archery Summit (the new Rose... mmm...). How did we take a drive without owning a car, you ask? Zipcar! Brilliant!Last week we joined Zipcar, a car-sharing program that is making its way into lots of big cities. In a nutshell, here's how it works: You pay an annual fee (usually $50, but we got it for $25 for being members of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance), and receive a Zipcard. There are tons of Zipcars parked all over the city, from hybrids to pickups to vans.
When you need a car, you can either call, text, or go online to make your reservation for any of the available cars, at an hourly rate (the rate varies depending on the car). You then walk up to your car in its designated parking spot, hold your card up to a card reader on the windshield, and bam! The doors unlock. The keys are already inside, so you're ready to drive.
Your annual fee plus hourly rate includes just about everything - the car, insurance, and GAS.
Each car comes ready with a gas card already inside that can be used as a credit card at any gas pump. The only rule is you must return the zipcar with at least a quarter tank of gas. When you consider the cost of renting a car for a day, plus the cost of gas to get wherever you're going, Zipcar is a cheaper option most of the time!On Sunday we opted to take a hybrid out to do some hiking, since the hourly rate is lower on the hybrids. But since yesterday was such a gorgeous day, we decided to take out one of the Mini Cooper convertibles to take advantage of the sunshine. The Mini was SO MUCH FUN to drive! Especially with the top down. I want one.
Here's a little video of how it all works. :)
We had a lovely drive out to Argyle, Archery Summit and Erath tasting rooms. Not a bad way to waste an afternoon!
Woooohooo! 
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2 comments:
Cool concept, whats to keep you from filling your friends car with gas too?
When you use the card to buy gas you enter your driver ID number and the car's current odometer reading. If something's off with the mileage on the car the next time the car needs a fill-up, they'll know something's up if too much gas is pumped. There's also at least some telemetry with the car's computer system, since they can check battery levels and disable the ignition (they might be able to tell remotely how much gas is in the car).
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