Zipping Around Campus
Duke introduces Zipcar car-sharing program
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Durham, NC -- Duke community members have a new way to drive green.
Starting Thursday, Zipcar, the 24/7 car-sharing program is available at Duke, offering faculty, staff and students the ability to travel around Duke, Durham and elsewhere without bringing a car to campus.
Four self-service vehicles are available for rent on Duke’s West Campus – two hybrid Priuses and two Toyota Matrixes.
Director of Event Management Chuck Catotti said the “green” aspects of the program will offer more transportation options for people who want to reduce their carbon footprint.
“When you talk to people about why they can’t consider alternative transportation, people often have lots of reasons,” said Catotti, who oversees Parking & Transportation Services. “This is one of the ways that help lower the barriers for being able to participate in alternative transportation.”
To join Zipcar, faculty, staff, and students pay a $35 registration fee that is applied as a credit toward reservations in the first month. The cost to reserve a car is $8 per hour or $66 per day. Fuel, maintenance and insurance are included. Reservations are accepted for a 1 hour minimum, up to a maximum of four days. All memberships, reservations and payments are administered and managed by Zipcar.
The effort to bring Zipcar to Duke gained speed last year when members of Duke Student Government and Duke Environmental Alliance approached Zipcar and Kemel W. Dawkins, vice president for campus services.
Lucy McKinstry, a Trinity junior who was part of the student efforts, said they wanted to bring Zipcar to campus to address environmental concerns, provide better vehicle access for students who don’t have a car and to help ease parking issues that arise from having many cars on campus.
“I’m excited that it’s finally coming together,” McKinstry said. “The benefits are innovative and practical. I’m hopeful this will encourage freshmen to get out and see exactly what kind of exciting things Durham has going on.”
Dawkins agreed, noting that bringing Zipcar to Duke is a great way to reduce the number of vehicles on campus, while offering greener options for motorists.
“Duke is committed to environmentally friendly transportation alternatives, and Zipcar’s service falls in line with the university’s goal to provide more sustainable options to students, faculty and staff,” he said.
The cars, which are available to all employees and students who are 18 or older and meet eligibility requirements, are parked in specially marked spaces by the West Campus bus stop on Chapel Drive and at the surface lot by the Bryan Center parking garage. Members age 18 to 20 can only reserve Zipcars assigned to the Duke campus; members 21 and older also have access to Zipcar’s network of more than 5,500 vehicles throughout North America and the United Kingdom.
By bringing Zipcar to campus, Duke joins more than 120 other colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada who have signed up for the car-sharing program since its inception in 1999. Zipcar is also used in more than 50 cities throughout North America.
