Hollywood has some zip now – parked there for the taking!
We’re talking about Zipcars – the car-sharing alternative that enables you to book a car online (for as little as an hour or as long as a few days) head to the place where it’s parked, swipe your Zipcard across the windshield and VOILA – you’ve got wheels. An efficient way to use a car when you need one -maybe for your out-of-town guests to sightsee, or when your college kid is home and needs to haul his gear to the beach pronto.
I did a quick drive-by of some of the Zipcar locations this Monday morning (a holiday) and found cars a plenty – including a couple of late-model Nissan Sentras and a sporty Scion XB hatchback perfect for hauling stuff from the hardware store. There are ten cars scattered among the following locations:
– Vine Street between Sunset Boulevard and Selma Avenue
– Hollywood Boulevard and North Western Avenue
– Wilcox Avenue and Sunset Boulevard
– North Highland Avenue and Yucca Street
– Hollywood Boulevard and Ivar Avenue
Gas, reserved parking spots, insurance, roadside assistance and up to 180 miles per day are included in the hourly and daily Zipcar rates. Cars can be reserved for as short as an hour or for up to four days. Rates on all vehicles start as low $8 per hour and $66 per day (24 hours) on weekdays and $9 per hour and $72 per day (24 hours) on weekends. It’s easy to sign up online and after a quick driving record check, you can book a Zipcar online. As a ‘Zipster’ you’ll get a Zipcard that allows you to find the car and unlock it with a swipe of their Zipcard on the front windshield.
It’s a great idea – really meant to encourage more car-sharing like they do in Europe. It’s better for traffic, the environment, and your pocketbook not having those extra wheels parked in the driveway when you can take public transportation.
