Results tagged “zipcar”

Universal Hub reports on a class action lawsuit filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boston by an Illinois man who claims that Zipcar's fees are illegal under Massachusetts law. Among the practices mentioned in the complaint are allegedly excessive late fees, fees for retrieving lost articles, fees for speaking to a live representative, and automatic debits from deposits on accounts that are "inactive." [UHub]

You may not be able to make it home in time for that mayoral debate at 5pm, but perhaps you can get to the North End Parks on the Kennedy Greenway by 7pm for a free screening of that Boston classic Good Will Hunting tonight. ZipCar is sponsoring the screening, where current members can get driving credits for signing up a friend; the friend will also get a discounted membership. Our friend Sam Yoon may want to make city cars more zippy, but sadly that won't cover plain old residents, so you may just have to sign up.

The following post is from our advertiser, Zipcar.

Remember when you first got your license and having a car meant having freedom? With Zipcar, it still does. Why wouldn’t you want to ditch the headaches of owning a car if you could keep all the good parts? Like the part where you pick up your friends, crank up the tunes, and get the heck out of town once in a while. Ahhhhhh. Smell that? That’s fresh air. Car-sharing means fewer cars on the road and a lot less nasty stuff in the air. And the more people who do it, the better it gets. Zipcar’s a breath of fresh air for your budget, too - saving you an average of $500/month over car ownership. What could you do with an extra $500 a month? Lots. Zipcars live in your neighborhood. And we’ve got hybrids, MINI Coopers and more starting at just $7/hour - that includes gas, insurance and 180 miles/day. Join Zipcar now and get $50 in free driving.

Something... like cars! Boston mayoral candidate Sam Yoon is proposing a Zipcar-like car sharing program that would allow government employees to make better use of city vehicles and help save the environment at the same time. Technology would allow city workers to schedule specific times to use vehicles, and enable unused vehicles to see some action rather than sit around all day. The city currently maintains 1125 vehicles at an average cost of $10,000 per year, meaning Boston spends over $11 million annually on employee transport alone. The program would focus on the city's 871 passenger vehicles. In addition to sharing technology, GPS units in the cars will also enable the practice of "geo-fencing," setting off alarms when cars go outside specific areas. No more side trips to Ikea, city workers! Yoon will propose the sharing program at the City Council tomorrow.

The press release reads, "This holiday season, Zipcar and Starbucks team up to reward Good Samaritans in Boston." But is that really true?