Student drivers at Boston University will now be able to easily rent cars — online — through the school’s new partnership with Zipcar, a national car-share company.
Tom Fawcett, director of operations at Boston University, announced Wednesday that BU has agreed to allow Zipcar to provide rental cars to faculty, staff and students over 21 years old.
Users can reserve the cars online or over the phone at any time of the day, according to the Zipcar website. Drivers can then use their issued “Zipcard” to electronically unlock the car’s doors and drive with the keys hidden inside. When finished, drivers return the Zipcar to its designated parking spot for the next renter, according to Zipcar’s website.
Two vehicles, a hybrid Toyota Prius and a Scion xB, are currently parked on the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Granby Street, according to Matt Malloy, vice president of marketing for Zipcar.
According to Malloy, one Zipcar takes 20 privately owned vehicles off of the road and saves colleges from needing to build additional parking lots and garages. Malloy said that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — which has also partnered with Zipcar — has saved more than $1 million from those costs.
BU spokesman Colin Riley said BU administrators accepted the cars on campus because the university wanted to meet the need for an alternative means of transportation for students and faculty.
He said that two Zipcars are already in use at BU’s Medical School campus and have been for three years, but now there is a need to bring the service to the Charles River campus.
Dan Curtin, regional vice president of Zipcar and a 1980 School of Management graduate, said 95 percent of BU alumni remains in the Boston metro area, so Zipcar is trying to create lifelong customers among students now at BU. That way, once they graduate, they will already be committed to the car-share program, he said.
“By taking the community-minded initiative to make car-sharing a part of campus life for its large community, Boston University is setting a commendable example for reducing traffic and parking challenges in the city, while offering an affordable and viable alternative to having a car on campus,” he said.
Members of the BU community can join the program for a discounted yearly fee of $25, and can then rent the cars for an additional $8.75 per hour or $63 per day. The rental price includes gas, insurance, designated parking and XM Satellite Radio service. Zipcar finances car maintenance while BU supplies parking spaces, according to Curtin.
Unlike traditional car rental companies, Zipcar neither charges additional fees for users under 25 years old, nor has a centralized agency. Instead, cars are parked all around the city, including over a dozen already along Commonwealth Avenue. The cars parked at BU can be used by anyone in the area, not just those associated with BU. However, Curtain said if the cars are being booked solid, more will be added.
Laron Brown of Boston’s City Cab said she is aware of other car-sharing programs in Boston, but does not think they threaten her company’s business.
“The people that call for cabs are the people that don’t want to drive,” she said.
With the high cost of cab fares and an annual BU parking permit priced at $943.50, BU students say they are excited about the idea of the on-
Kara Hennula, 20, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said she usually just walks or rides the T around campus and Boston, but she would definitely consider the program when she turns 21.
“Being from Montana, I don’t really know how to drive in this type of traffic,” she said. “But it’d be good to use to go places the T doesn’t.”