Car-sharing service coming to campus?
Zip-a-dee-do-dah, zip-a-dee-ay ...
There’s been talk about a car-sharing service like Zipcar coming to the RPI campus, and we might have found further confirmation. A Zipcar-branded Prius was sighted on Sage Avenue by the ‘87 Gym this afternoon; our thought is a meeting with representatives or perhaps a test drive? But this is certainly furthering our suspicions of the service coming to campus! Zipcar offers its car-sharing services in large cities like Boston, Chicago, and New York City; expanding services to RPI (or even the Capital District for that matter) would be a welcomed move.
Though we are curious what the terms would be for student’s use of the service, it has the potential to provide a great opportunity for the Rensselaer community … particularly for club or residence life outings. Here’s to hoping our suspicions prove true!
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I did substantial work on a proposal to bring zipcar in several years ago, and the sticking point was they wanted us to guarantee a certain level of revenue and we didn’t feel comfortable with making that commitment. Granted Zipcar is much bigger now so it may be able to better handle a smaller revenue stream.
I believe I still have my Zipcar documents on my Thinkpad. If anyone currently working on it is interested let me know. Bob AT BobForTheJob.com
-Bob
RPI is definitely getting a car share program that will be launched for the Spring semester, but whether or not that is Zipcar is still being settled. The revenue guarantee is no longer an issue, so maybe it will work out this time…
Yeah, it’s happening. Probably Zipcar. There will probably be a few cars held in the Meuller Center lot, and it will expand if people use it enough.
You know, this isn’t exactly a secret… I mean, yeah it’s not publicized but it’s talked about at a lot of FFA meetings which get mentioned in the very public Senate meetings.
@Chris Picone
But it’s difficult to attend Senate meetings for some people and its minutes aren’t exactly up-to-date on Flagship. It’s actually fairly annoying to keep informed …
Senate meetings are taped and posted online, so they can be watched during free time. Also, there have been snags in the plan to get zipcar, and people involved were asked not to make any public announcements yet. That’s why this has been a semi-”secret” issue.
@Kelly Lottman
Good point. However, minutes are still much easier to sift through than watching a whole Senate meeting. Or to see if a particular issue was even addressed during the meeting. I really feel like both should be offered.
And while I understand people can’t run around screaming “there’s going to be zipcar on campus!” since there are “snags” and it’s not finalized, I don’t see what precludes people from saying that the Senate is working to get a car-sharing service on campus. I think *communication* is better on that front so that other people could share opinions as opposed to only limiting it to those involved. That sounds like something students blame the administration for doing … only announcing a decision when it’s finalized? Hmmm. =)
1) The senate has little to nothing to do with it, they are just talking about it and putting what they have heard through rumors on the record as fact.
2) The secrecy isn’t imposed by the group organizing it or by the administration, it is imposed by the process of negotiating a contract.
3) More info coming soon. Stand by.
Oh, I wasn’t implying it was the administration’s fault for secrecy. And I understand the student group is being cautious in how the process is being approached.
I’m just saying it couldn’t *hurt* to say to the student body that it’s something the group is working toward. Nothing needs to be mentioned about what service it is or when we’re getting it or how it’ll work, etc. A broad announcement’s all that’s needed in this case just to inform people about an attempted initiative. Who knows, someone could have a really good point about implementation or a specific car service the group might not have thought of.
And to clarify, I was being semi-obnoxious in the way my comment was phrased at the end. =)