Zip Cars

Renting autos by the hour, is a new service which you really might consider!

The Zip Car, is a great car rental service available for urban dwellers who have given up their cars in exchange for public transport yet still relish the thought of a short-duration escape, and for regular travelers who are tired of spending more on their rental cars than their hotels when they visit major North American cities.

Zip Cars, through a partnership with Yale University are now available in New Haven

It's called Zip Car (www.zipcar.com) and it can end up costing you far, far less than a traditional car rental. Rates run $7 to $10 per hour, and incredibly that includes gas and all insurances. (If you do need to top off the tank, you do so using the fuel card provided at no charge to you.)

Unlike a traditional rental, you are not gong to be stuck with a "Pontiac Grand Prix or similar." There are dozens of makes and models available, and you get precisely the car you reserve, from a staid Honda Civic to a trendy Scion xB, from a Copper MINI to a BMW 328, or from an SUV to a hybrid Prius.

There's no rental counter, so you can pick up and drop off a car anywhere at any time. You simply sign in and reserve a car for a specific time and place -- the site gives you a Google map flagged with locations showing where parked Zipcars are available in the city of your choice.

When you join the service you are issued a personal Zipcard, which looks a bit like a credit card. Wave this card over a sensor on the car door and it will automatically unlock for you (and only you at your reserved time; even another Zipcar user couldn't take the car you have reserved.) The card also unlocks the ignition, allowing you to use the keys left hidden in the car.

This service is not really intended for the occasional traveler, but for people who either live in or regularly visit the big cities. There is a one-time application fee of $25 and an annual fee of $50. However, once those costs are surmounted, the rates are remarkably low: $7 to $10 per hour, or $55 to $69 per day, depending on the city you choose and whether you'll drive just occasionally or several times a month (the latter is cheaper). When you consider that this cost also covers insurance and gasoline, the deal is truly phenomenal.
 
There is one limit no longer found on most traditional rentals: no unlimited mileage. You only get 180 miles on any reservation, whether it's for an hour or a full day. Still, 180 miles is enough to drive and town and anywhere about an hour away by highway. Drive farther than that and you'll pay 35¢ per mile (45¢ on premium cars like a BMW).

You sign up for a specific city, but once a member you can use a Zipcar in any city where the service is offered. That list currently includes: New York and northern New Jersey, the greater Washington, DC area, ten locations in New England (including Boston, Providence, New Haven, and Lewiston, ME), Chicago, Chapel Hill and Elon in North Carolina, Ann Arbor, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Santa Cruz in California, plus in Canada (Toronto and Vancouver), and even London, England.

Visit: www.zipcar.com
Or http://www.zipcar.com/yale/ for Yale students and faculty