Faculty and staff members and students who occasionally want access to a car but don’t want to buy or borrow one will have a new option in late October when a community car-sharing program is expected to take off.
The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District, the cities of Champaign and Urbana, and the UI are close to finalizing agreements to provide a car-sharing program through Zipcar, which provides fleets of on-demand, self-service cars by the hour or by the day.
Under the proposed three-year agreement, six Zipcars would be placed in the community: two cars in the University District and two cars each in Champaign and Urbana outside the district. The agreement defines the district as the area bound by University Avenue to the north, St. Mary’s Road to the south, Neil Street to the west and Lincoln Avenue to the east. The cities and the university would provide reserved parking spaces for the Zipcars at locations to be determined.
The agreement also calls for establishing a Car Sharing Program Committee – composed of one member each from the UI, the MTD and the cities – that will oversee the program.
Anyone who paid to join the program would be able to reserve vehicles online 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The annual membership fee is expected to be $35 for UI employees and students, said Morgan Johnston, transportation demand management coordinator in Facilities and Services.
After a member reserved a vehicle, the vendor would send the reservation information to the vehicle by way of wireless technology. The member would retrieve the vehicle from a designated parking spot, use an electronic pass called a “Zipcard” to unlock it, and return the vehicle to the same spot at the end of the reserved time. The vendor would be responsible for the insurance, the vehicles and their maintenance and for providing related services such as reservations and billing.
Zipcar provides gas cards for drivers to fill the tanks, as well as roadside assistance.
To be eligible for membership, drivers have to be at least 21 years old, have a valid driver’s license, and have safe driving records that meet Zipcar’s standards regarding the number and types of violations and/or accidents. Members age 21 and older can use the service in any city where Zipcar has a fleet. Under a University Partners Agreement that the UI is expected to sign, student members ages 18-20 would be able to reserve cars too but only in Champaign, Urbana and on campus.
Once the cities and the university sign the agreement, the MTD will execute a contract with Zipcar within 60 days.
According to its Web site, Zipcar provides 400 cars to 20,000 students, faculty and staff members at more than 30 universities who partner with Zipcar, including the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin.
