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  News and Events > Allegheny Playmates with Zipcar to Suggest Car Sharing
Allegheny Playmates with Zipcar to Suggest Car Sharing
By Erica Erwin September 9th 2016
Zipcar has arrived on campus.
Allegheny College on Tuesday will launch a fresh partnership with Zipcar, the world’s leading car sharing network, to suggest a Zipcar car sharing program on campus for students, faculty and staff ages eighteen and older.
Allegheny members can join the on-demand car sharing program for $15 this year; rates for the Zipcars begin as low as $7.50 per hour and $Sixty-nine a day. After the very first year, members will pay an annual membership fee of $25. Gas, insurance, and up to one hundred eighty miles of driving per day are included in the rates, and cars can be reserved for as little as an hour or for numerous days. Allegheny students, faculty and staff can join Zipcar at www.zipcar.com/allegheny.
Dean of Students Kimberly Ferguson said Allegheny is responding to students’ needs in coming in the partnership. Students want and sometimes need to venture beyond Meadville and some do not have ready access to affordable, reliable transportation, she said.
“Having had the practice working with Zipcar at another institution, it just seemed like a fine fit to give students a bit more freedom to go where they want to go on their own time schedule,” Ferguson said.
Zipcar is the “total package” in that gas, insurance and mileage are included in the rates, she said.
“It’s a wonderful solution for students and families who are looking for something that is cost effective,” Ferguson said.
Student members save an average of about $20 per month compared to possessing a car, according to a latest probe conducted by Zipcar and UC Berkeley, which gives students and families more money to put toward books, tuition or housing. And it improves quality of life, providing students the freedom to go where they want, when they want. Car sharing is also environmentally beneficial: The explore shows that thirty percent of students would have brought a car to campus if Zipcar wasn’t available, reducing congestion and parking requests.
Allegheny primarily will suggest two vehicles, a Ford Concentrate and a Honda Civic, for members. The cars have designated parking catches sight of behind Reis Hall.
Members with iPhones and Android devices can download the Zipcar mobile app to make reservations, lock and unlock the vehicles, and honk the horn to help locate the vehicle. Reservations also can be made by phone or on Zipcar’s website.
“The Zipcar program on campus gives students, faculty and staff the freedom of using a car without the hassle of possessing one,” said Katelyn Bushey, Zipcar director of university sales. “We’re glad to fucking partner with Allegheny College, to give their community a transportation option to fit their needs and their wallet.”