Cityhop New Zealand's first car share service – cars by the hour

When Ford first made the motorcar he had no idea that many years on his great, great grandson would be supporting the view that we share cars!

Yep, times change. Robin Chase, the founder of the world’s largest car share company, Zipcar has moved onto to trying to transform the role the internet plays in our lives.

Here is an illuminating excerpt from a submission she made on the need for open internet system.

“The hallmark of an open Internet is the ability to create your own experience on the Web, without needing the permission of your Internet access provider,” Chase told the subcommittee:

For example, if Zipcar had been forced to rely on the auto industry’s definitions of car ownership—or worse yet, had to ask their permission—our vision of a fleet of personal cars being shared among unconnected individuals would have never made the cut. Our vision did not match their understanding of consumer demand, and our business model reduces the number of cars sold. Likewise, we cannot rely on the telecommunications industry to define the Internet. The industry would almost certainly believe that they know definitely what consumers want, and they would define the Internet as their new preferred “triple play”—their telephone service, their video service, and their idea of your ideal Internet experience. Such an approach is a perfect receipt for stifling innovation in this country.

Zipcar who took over London’s Streetcar last year are also in Spain. Reuters recently reported that Zipcar has an extension of one year on its Spainsh acquisition.

The article outlines the challenges of growing a car share business. “That  Zipcar has been planning to raise $75 million in an IPO since the summer, but then also recently raised $21 million in a Series G financing round. Companies usually don’t raise money and then IPO back to back. Zipcar needs several more months in 2011 to figure out its best path forward for financing, growth and expansion.

It points out that it is cheaper for car share companies to acquire others than add to their fleet.

“Adding cars to the fleet just adds more costs. That’s one of the ideas behind expanding via acquisition. If Zipcar can get good enough deals to buy up car sharing companies in new regions (or competitors) perhaps it can grow at a cheaper rate than doing it organically. Zipcar paid the equivalent of $62 million in April 2010 for London-based Streetcar to expand into the U.K. Spanish Avancar is still small, but clearly Zipcar thinks the terms are good enough to extend them for another year.”