After over a dozen years of non-driving, i've reacquired the skill and discovered an amazing car sharing service that is in my town and in many other big towns/cities, called ZipCar.
As someone who grew up in a city that where the most common means of getting around is mass transport, not driving was no big deal.. But in most places, having a car is important. Still, even where I am now i get to most places on public transportation, and having a car of my own seems overkill and way too expensive, especially with insurance costs.
But this ZipCar thing is perfect for people like me who would still like to do some occasional driving, to go shopping or pick people up at airport, etc.
Basically it's about $50 a year, and then you pay $8/hour or so for when you actually use a car. This cost includes good insurance coverage and all gas costs.
All reservations can be done online, and you get a key card that unlocks the car during your reservation -- so you never have to deal with an actual human.
Pros:
- Completely automated system.
- Cheap if you very rarely drive.
- As a member you can use zipcars in any state.
Cons:
- Useless unless ZipCar operates very near you -- within walking distance; so only useful to a small fraction of people on planet.
- They are strict about reservations (since others may have it reserved after you); so when you say it will be back by a certain time, it MUST be back by then.
- Expensive if you need to use the care for a full day (then a standard car rental becomes cheaper)
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