Drexel University has partnered with Zipcar, Inc., the world’s leading car-sharing network, to offer a Zipcar car-sharing program on campus. The cost-effective and convenient transportation option is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to all students ages 18 and older, as well as faculty and professional staff members.
Drexel University members pay a $35 annual fee, and rates on campus Zipcar vehicles start as low as $7 per hour and $69 per day. Gas, insurance, reserved parking spots, up to 180 miles of driving per day and roadside assistance are included in the hourly and daily Zipcar rates. Cars can be reserved for as little as an hour or for multiple days. Drexel students, faculty and staff can join at www.zipcar.com/drexel.
“Drexel is working to support sustainability throughout campus as well as in our community,” said Rita LaRue Gollotti, senior associate vice president of Drexel Business Services. “Drexel Business Services continuously develops and implements sustainable, environmentally friendly initiatives on all three University campuses structured around three guiding principles: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Our partnership with Zipcar only furthers that mission.”
The University will initially offer eight Zipcars, including Ford Focus, Honda Insight, Mazda 3, Scion xB and Kia Soul models, which will be located in several campus lots. Zipcars are self service and can be easily reserved and accessed 24 hours a day. Participating members with smartphones, including iPhones and Android devices, may download the Zipcar mobile applications to make reservations, lock and unlock the vehicles as well as honk the horn to help locate the vehicle. Reservations can also be made over the phone or by using the Zipcar website.
“Zipcar is a convenient and cost-efficient transportation alternative that will help make it easier for students to get around the city and attend job interviews and internships, as well as run personal errands like picking up groceries, going to the mall or even getting away for the weekend,” said Peter Bruvik, general manger, Zipcar Philadelphia. “And, further benefiting the campus community, Zipcar will help to reduce congestion on campus, helping reduce Drexel University’s overall carbon footprint.”
With the new Zipcar program available on campus, student organizations at Drexel will have the opportunity to participate in the “Students with Drive” grant program sponsored by Zipcar and Ford Motor Company, which provides students with free Zipcar memberships and driving credits to support student organizations on campus.
Through the Students with Drive grant program, Ford and Zipcar will provide $300,000 in grants to be awarded to student organizations and universities. The program is running now through April and will culminate with one student organization being awarded a grand prize of $5,000 in Zipcar credits, $10,000 for the student organization to put toward its cause and $10,000 to be awarded to the winning school. For more information and to participate in the program, students can visit the “Students with Drive” tab on Zipcar’s University Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ZipcarU
Zipcar has established partnerships with more than 250 universities in North America, including the University of Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr College and LaSalle University. For more information, including how to become a member of Zipcar at Drexel University, visit www.zipcar.com/drexel.
About Zipcar
Zipcar is the world's leading car-sharing service with more than 650,000 members and over 9,000 vehicles in urban areas and college campuses throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models of self-service vehicles by the hour or day to residents and businesses looking for an alternative to the high costs and hassles of owning a car. More information is available at www.zipcar.com.
About Drexel’s Green initiatives
Drexel’s partnership with Zipcar continues the University’s commitment to sustainability. The University is the inaugural participant in the Campus Energy Efficiency Fund, which the Pennsylvania Treasury developed in partnership with Philadelphia-based Blue Hill Partners to cut utility costs through job-creating energy efficiency improvements. The University has signed the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment, validating Drexel's pledge to eliminate its carbon footprint, promote research and educational efforts, and equip the University to contribute in stabilizing the earth's climate. Drexel is included in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Top 50 list of the largest green power purchasers. The University was also recognized by PennFuture, a leading Pennsylvania environmental advocacy organization, for becoming the first institution in the country to deploy Viridity Energy's VPower System™, an energy monitoring system at its University City Main Campus. More information is available at http://www.drexel.edu/green/ .