I went to school in New York City, so I never had too much trouble getting places (MTA, holla!), but I understand that at many schools – having a car is a must. However, having wheels is a huge responsibility and costs a bunch of money between maintaining it, fueling it and parking it. One awesome solution that my roommate and I have recently invested in is signing up for Zipcar.
Zipcar is a great alternative to bringing a car to school and can be really cheap if you share the costs with another person. You’re looking at a $30 fee to join and then after that you pay a flat hourly rate for as long as you use the car. Usually the cars cost from $10 to $15 per hour and that includes insurance and gasoline (they actually give you a Zipcar gascard that you can use to fill up the tank if it’s low).
It is also really convenient to use, and if you live in a relatively big sized city there are a bunch of pick-up and drop-off locations. When you pick up the car, you simply wave your Zipcar card over a card reader on the front windshield to unlock the car and then you’re ready to go. Waspit isn’t the only one using RFID technology to make life easier!
The best part of Zipcar, in my opinion, are the cars you can rent! If you are trying to be cheap you can rent just a simple Mazda, Honda, or Nissan sedan. If you are transporting a bunch of friends to the beach or to an event they have a bunch of SUVs and trucks. But, say you’re taking out a date or having a fancy night out on the town, then you take out one of their sports or luxury convertibles. I have seen a few BMW coupes as well as Mini Cooper and Audi 2-door convertibles. So if you want to feel like a high roller for a few hours but you’re limited to a college budget, Zipcar’s got you covered!
Since my roomie and I got Zipcar, we have been able to enjoy and do things that we were originally unable to do. We use it to go to a number of different places that we cannot get to using public transportation. On the other hand, Zipcar is also a great reason to ditch your wheels if you don’t want to worry about them at school. In fact, many Universities have a partnership with Zipcar and offer student deals for college students! Waspit is always trying to find ways that college kids can save money (so that you can spend it on fun stuff). Check out Zipcar and also some awesome deals I found here.
Would you sign-up for Zipcar?
Does your university offer a ZipCar for Universities program?
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Using Zipcar was really convenient while I was in school, I highly recommend! One thing that should be pointed out is that if you plan on using Zipcar, you can’t use it as soon as you sign up. They usually take a few days (maybe longer, it’s been a while!) to verify you’re a licensed driver and all that.
Great point Samm, I forgot to mention that. It only took a few days for me too and I signed up a few months ago. Did your university have a Zipcar program?