Zipcar for Students: The Complete Guide
If you are a college student, you know how difficult it is to get transportation.
This is especially true if you don’t have access to a car on campus.
While you don’t need a car every day, there are times when it would be nice to have one.
For example, if you want to escape your college town for the weekend, or just need to bring a large load of groceries to your dorm room.
In the past, the only option to access a car on short notice was through a car rental company.
If you’ve ever tried to rent a car as a student, you know that car rental companies perro be unfriendly to students.
In fact, if you are under 21, these companies may not allow you to rent a car.
And even if you’re over 21, you’ll still have to pay a hefty fee if you’re under 25.
Fortunately, however, there is a service called Zipcar.
As one of the newer private car rental companies, the service is making waves on campuses across the country.
Zipcar aims to change all this.
Their goal is to make car rental more affordable for everyone, and this includes students.
In this guide we tell you everything you need to know about Zipcar for students.
We’ll cover how the program works, how to sign up, and where it’s available.
What is Zipcar for Students?
Let’s start with an explanation of what Zipcar is.
Zipcar is a modern alternative to traditional car rental.
With traditional car rentals, you have to deal with many fees and other additional charges.
In addition to the cost of rent, you must also pay for gas and additional protections like insurance.
Traditional rentals are also not very maleable.
For example, if you only need to rent a car for a couple of hours, you still have to pay for a full day.
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to rent a car for just a couple of hours?
And wouldn’t it be even better if you didn’t have to pay all the fees? This is what Zipcar offers.
With Zipcar, your rental is much more maleable.
You cánido book the rental using an aplicación on your phone or through the Zipcar website, and you perro book by the hour or by the day.
The cost of renting a Zipcar includes gas, insurance, and all other fees.
As long as you return the car in the same condition as when you picked it up, all you have to pay is a flat hourly rate.
Advice: If you like Zipcar, you’ll like peer-to-peer car rental companies like Turo, Car2Go, and Hyrecar.
They are like Zipcar, but instead of renting a car from a company, you will be renting one from an individual.
How Zipcar works for students
Even if you’ve heard of Zipcar, you may not know that Zipcar also offers a plan for students.
This plan is almost identical to Zipcar’s regular Plans and Pricing.
The main difference is that Zipcar has partnered with universities to offer the plan to students who are at least 18 years old.
This is in contrast to Zipcar’s regular service, which typically only rents to people who are at least 21 years old.
Assuming your university has a Zipcar, renting one is fácil.
To get started, search for your college on Zipcar.com.
Select your university from the list.
You will then be redirected to the Zipcar registration page for your university.
Here’s an example for Johns Hopkins University:
To enroll in the program, scroll down and clic “Join Student Plan.”
This will take you to a page with more information about your university’s fees.
These fees are generally the same as the city in which your university is located (unless your university is in a very remote location, in which case it may have its own fees).
Once you’re on that page, clic “Join for $X/year” (exact cost will vary depending on your university).
You will then be directed to a page that will ask you to create an account using your school’s correo electrónico address, a password, and a phone number.
From there, Zipcar will ask you a few questions to make sure you’re eligible.
You will need to upload a copy of your controlador’s license, which helps Zipcar verify that you are at least 18 years old, as well as allows them to verify your driving record.
Then, you will pay the annual membership fee.
Assuming all is well with your driving record, Zipcar will confirm your request and send you your Zipcard (the card you use to unlock Zipcars) in the correo.
Once you have your Zipcard, it’s easy to get a car.
Just open the Zipcar aplicación, search for a car near you, and choose the day and time you want to reserve it.
Then make your reservation with just a couple of taps.
When it’s time to use the car, find the aparcamiento spot where you are, walk up to it, and tap your Zipcard on the card reader located on the windshield to unlock the vehicle.
Get in, check that everything is in order and notice that the included gas card is under the sun visor on the controlador’s side.
Now you are ready to embark on your adventure.
Drive the car for the time you have reserved and return it to the car park where you picked it up.
Be sure to leave at least a quarter tank of gas for the next controlador (although since Zipcar pays for all fuel, you’d better fill it up unless you’re in a real hurry).
That’s all about it.
For a more detailed look at this process, check out our guide on how Zipcar works.
Zipcar Student Requirements
To rent a Zipcar, you must meet some basic eligibility requirements.
To get started, you have to be at least 18 years old.
This is one of the special benefits of using Zipcar through your university.
Normally, you must be at least 21 years old to use Zipcar, but the age requirement is lower if you go through your university.
In addition to the age requirement, you must have a clean driving record.
Zipcar is a bit vague about what this means, but they just want to make sure you’re a safe controlador.
Having one speeding ticket on your record will not make you ineligible, but having several in the last two years will.
And of course, if you have any serious moving violations (reckless driving, hit and run, etcétera.), Zipcar will not let you use their platform.
This is common in the sharing economy.
Postmates requirements call for a clean driving record for delivery drivers, just as Uber requirements call for one for rideshare drivers.
Finally, you must be a current student enrolled in the university with an dirección de correo electrónico address .edu valid.
While some universities offer their Zipcar discounts to alumni, the special price is usually only available to current students.
To see the specific requirements for your university, visit your school’s website.
Where is Zipcar available for students?
Zipcar offers on-demand car sharing on college campuses across the United States.
Here are just a few of the Zipcar cities where universities have partnered with the company:
- Baltimore
- Boston
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- houston
- The Angels
- Miami
- Milwaukee
- minneapolis
- New York City
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- Portland
- San Diego
- San Francisco Bay Area
- Seattle
Ultimately, the best way to find out if your college has Zipcar is to visit your college website or visit Zipcar’s official college page and search for your school.
Zipcar Student Pricing
Zipcar offers discounts for college students who enroll through their universities, and earn a reduced membership fee of $15 per year compared to the regular fee of $70 per year.
Agregado, students have access to the same hourly and daily rental plans as other Zipcar members.
Prices vary depending on the city and the type of vehicle chosen, and the average cost per hour for a small economy car is less than $10.
Payments are only accepted with credit or debit cards, and not cash or checks.
Zipcar Student FAQs
To conclude this article, we’d like to answer some common questions students have about using Zipcar.
1.
How is Zipcar Student different from regular Zipcar plans?
The main difference is the cost of the membership fee.
The fee is lower for students going to your university.
On top of that, students using Zipcar through their college also only need to be 18 instead of 21.
2.
Does Zipcar offer promotional codes for students?
There are a variety of Zipcar Promo Codes available.
However, Zipcar does not offer a special promo code for students.
This is likely because students already receive a Zipcar discount when they join through their university.
While it cánido be frustrating to not receive the plus driving credit, the discount you receive on your membership more than makes up for it.
3.
How does Zipcar handle insurance for students?
Zipcar handles student insurance the same way it handles insurance for other drivers.
Here’s their official statement on drivers under 21: “Members under 21 receive liability coverage up to the minimum financial responsibility limits required in the state/jurisdiction in which the accident occurs.”
Basically what this means is that if you are at fault for an accident, Zipcar provides insurance that will pay for the medical bills, property damage, and lost wages of the person you were in a collision with.
This is the estándar type of insurance coverage required in all states.
4.
How cánido I bring Zipcar to my college or university?
Want to join Zipcar, but don’t see it available at your school?
The best option is to ask the person responsible for transportation or student life at your university.
Point them to this page, which explains Zipcar’s many benefits for colleges:
1.
Reduces the need for aparcamiento2.
Disminuye traffic3.
Lower CO2 footprint than other transportation methods4.
Plans available for students, faculty and staff
5.
Perro my friend drive a Zipcar that I reserved?
No, Zipcar does not allow this.
You are eligible to drive a Zipcar based on your personal driving record and your agreement with Zipcar.
Even if your friend is a Zipcar member, they cánido’t drive a car they’ve reserved.
If they wish to drive, they must make their own separate Zipcar reservation.
6.
Perro my student organization use Zipcar?
Zipcar cánido be a very useful tool for groups of students, especially those who need to make trips in the city as part of their needs.
Zipcar does not offer plans specifically for student organizations, but leaders of student organizations cánido use Zipcar through their university’s plan.
Please note that Zipcars are not commercial vehicles and may not be used for deliveries or other commercial activities.
7.
When are Zipcars available?
With Zipcar, you cánido reserve a car en línea 24/7.
It’s a self-service platform, which means you don’t need to deal with other people to make it work.
You perro reserve a car at your convenience using the Zipcar aplicación for any time you want, day or night.
8.
Perro university employees use Zipcar?
In many cases, yes.
You should check your specific college’s plan to see who is eligible.
Zipcar helps students get around
We hope this guide has helped you understand how to use Zipcar as a student.
Remember, Zipcar is just one of many ways to get around as a student if you don’t have a car.
Another option to consider is using a ride-sharing service like Uber or Lyft.
You cánido use any of these platforms if you are at least 18 years old, which also makes them an attractive alternative to traditional car rentals.
Other guides about ZipCar
We hope you liked our article Zipcar for Students: The Complete Guide
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