Zipcar and Flexcar are two car share companies that Cityhop has spent a lot of time learning about. They are Amercia’s leading car share companies and today October 31 they have merged creating a huge international network that will deliver more benefits to members and accelerate their growth.
Zipcar is committed to bring car sharing to more people in more places, something Cityhop also aspires too. All three companies provide cars by the hour to members.
Car sharing programmes are proven to have significant positive environmental and social impacts. National studies show that each shared car replaces up to 20 privately owned vehicles. Car sharing members report they drive a lot less, are more likely to shop locally and most report a 47 % increase in public trsansit trips and an increase is biking and walking.
At current membership adoption rates Zipcar predict that in a city with a populaiton of 600,000 residents, if a conservative 10 % adoption rate to car share occurred, that would result in 60,000 car sharing members taking 24,000 cars off the road. Zipcar already has a 10% adoption rate in its well established metro market areas. This augers well for these communities resulting in less land and financial resources being required to provide parking infrastructure.