Jamie Kripke
Griffith considers these moves "an affirmation of how big the category could be." By positioning himself as the Whole Foods of the category, the rental-car companies end up being the grocery stores that add an aisle or two of natural foods. He believes he has got a five-year head start in technology--and, I'd add, he's eons ahead in service. Enterprise still charges extra for insurance. Hertz's sign-up process for hourly rentals in Boston is slow and tedious.
While other companies wrap themselves in green with every modest, earth-friendly nod, Zipcar has adopted a set-it-and-forget-it model. "There is a feel-good component to car sharing, but we let customers come to that conclusion," Griffith says. "We don't have to advertise it." But, hey, it couldn't hurt to come up with a word for that feeling.
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Recent Comments | 13 Total
February 16, 2008 at 11:18am by David Brook
This was an interesting article but doesn't even mention the very successful non-profit carsharing companies that successfully compete with Zipcar in several cities - San Francisco, Philadelphia, Vancouver. More are on the way.
I believe the wording in the sidebar graphic may lead to misunderstanding of the effect of carsharing. It says "Carsharing members report a 47% increase in mass-transit use, a 26% increase in walking rather than driving and a 10% rise in bicycling trips." If I'm not mistaken, I believe what the member surveys have shown is "47% of members report an increase in mass-transit use" not that they're taking 47% more transit trips than before joining. The wording is confused for the other modes as well.
And, as someone who follows the industry, I would be interested in the details behind the statistic: "Zipcar members drive 369 miles annually compared with 5,295 miles before joining." The 5,295 miles before is certainly reasonable but I suspect the 369 miles reflects the average number of miles members drove Zipcars, not all the driving they did. For example, a 2 car family cutting back to owning 1 car + Zipcar would likely be putting more miles on their remaining car each year.
Nitpicking? Perhaps - but I've seen statistics get picked up and thrown around for years before someone stops to ask some basic questions.
February 18, 2008 at 9:40am by Dick Nepon
Also not covered, the idea of municipalities using the non-profit car-sharing as a basis for reducing overhead. Sharing vehicles with residents, even if pre-reserving them during the business hours, allows for reducing the cost of owning and maintaining a fleet. Most municipal fleet vehicles are unused evening and overnite. This also has the added benefit in inner cities of helping to reduce the parking congestion from conversion of large single family homes into multi-family units. A twelve foot frontage city home might need four or more parking spaces. With 12 houses on a block, you can see why there is never a spot to park. We will need to rethink our expectation of shopping when we feel like it; we'll need to plan ahead and reserve. But the benefits are obvious.
February 18, 2008 at 9:12pm by Doug Brunner
Dick Nepon says: "This also has the added benefit in inner cities of helping to reduce the parking congestion from conversion of large single family homes into multi-family units."
From my understanding, it is the illegal conversion of single family homes into multi-family dwellings that has brought your once great city of Allentown down the poop chute. How many gas guzzling broken down cars are parked outside your own home? If you want to not go shopping 'whenever you feel like it', take the bus. Oh, sorry, is public transportation in A-town too scary?
February 19, 2008 at 2:40pm by Dick Nepon
Doug, there was a time when these conversions were legal and recommended by government. It now appears to have been a short sighted plan. They are no longer legal, and are being addressed as illegal conversions are discovered. The prior, legal conversions are enough to choke the city. Even a single family home with 4 or more drivers and cars is enough to choke the city.
April 22, 2009 at 1:22am by petty deh
successful car-sharing companies such as Zipcar (Aftermarket auto parts) dealt with improving their profit margin and marketing strategies.