Zipcar seems to the beginning of a great car rental system. You can now drive cars by the hour or day! Zipcar doors & ignition will only unlock at the start of the booking using a plastic card. Read more here!

Today, thousands of drivers use Zipcars in Boston, New York, and Washington DC. In many neighborhoods, Zip-cars are as ubiquitous as ATMs.

That's why over 30% of their customers have either sold their car or have stopped their purchasing decision. The revolution is underway, at least in the minds of members who no longer give a second thought to how they will get where they need to go.

With a Zip-card in your pocket, a car is only a wireless signal away.

Awards
Zipcar have won various awards since they started in 2000 and below are some of them.

Zip-car - Car-sharing, cars by the hour or day. This truely is 24/7 car rental. www.zipcar.com

BBC News - Re-thinking urban car journeys - Report about Zip-car. news.bbc.co.uk

Carpundit - A review by someone who actually tried the Zipcar service. carpundit.typepad.com


How it works
Attached to the windscreen is an RFID (radio frequency ID) reader, and a plastic card containing an RFID chip is given to each member. (The RFID reader is connected to a wireless "black box" within the car.)

The door and ignition will only unlock at the start of the booking, so stealing such a car is difficult.

The engine must also be switched off by the end of the rental period or an additional late fee is imposed - Extra time can be purchased by phone during the booking if needed.

Roy Russell, Zipcar's chief technology officer, says:
"We can disable the ignition if necessary, and we can read the odometer [mileometer] on the vehicle."

For more on the above information about Zipcar, you can see the report by Ian Hardy on the BBC News link at the top of the page.

If the above link doesn't work you can see the BBC News Zipcar Article here.

Pictures