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 Car Rental Companies - Car rental companies sorted by brand including: Ace, Avis, Advantage, Budget, Discount, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National and Thrifty. All car rental companies include rental detail, contact numbers and essential links.
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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!
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About Zipcar
In June of 2000 the first Zip-cars were on the road. The masses could now drive cars by the hour or day - on their terms.
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.
AltWheels Transportation Festival
Award for Alternative Transportation Innovation (2003)
Boston Chamber of Commerce
Pinnacle Award, finalist (2001)
Cambridge Chamber of Commerce
Small Business of the Year (2001)
Cambridge First Day Award
For Extraordinary Commitment to the Environment (2003)
CIO Magazine
CIO 100 Hottest Technology Ideas (2001)
Info World Magazine
2001 Top 100 (#34)
United States Department of Energy
Clean Cities Program Award (2003)
Women's Business Hall of Fame
2001 Start-Up of the Year
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The most relevant links we could find, placed here free
 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
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