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The rise of car sharing  

The concept of car sharing is not new. In fact, many families across the nation practice it every day. But what about sharing a car (or cars) with complete strangers? Thanks to new technology, companies – most notably zipcar^® – are beginning to find success in providing car-sharing services in urban areas and college campuses across the country.

The key to the successful implementation of this idea is the keycard technology. Companies like zipcar^® and I-GO (a Chicago-based non-profit company) equip their cars to be locked and unlocked via a box located on the windshield. A member simply needs to reserve a car, go to its location and unlock the car using their membership card. 

Inside they’ll find an actual key to start the car. Zipcar^® requires the user to lock and unlock the car every time they leave it using their membership card, while I-GO members use the actual key and only use their membership card again to lock the car when they are finished using it.

With zipcar^®, users search online for nearby available cars then make a reservation for a few hours or the entire day. Rates are generally around $10 an hour and $70 for an entire day. There is an annual membership fee that starts at $50. 

For those who do not have enough use of a car to rationalize buying one, this service is a great solution for the times when they do need the use of a car.

For more information, visit:

https://www.zipcar.com/

http://www.igocars.org/