In recent years, Zipcar has expanded its business model from the traditional round trip station based carsharing and was offering one-way car sharing from A to B and free-floating in select cities. FastFleet set a benchmark for all carsharing organizations and was one of the reasons why Avis was interested in buying Zipcar. Before Avis acquired Zipcar, this was one of the revenue streams and Zipcar was one of the first carsharing organizations worldwide to release an iphone app (2009). This was a crucial component to Zipcar’s success in providing a convenient carsharing service. While the two original founders realized very early on that technology was needed to run a carsharing business successfully, Griffith also helped lead the development of Zipcar’s technology into the FastFleet system. This widely successful program was introduced under Scott Griffith who took the helm of Zipcar in 2003. Zipcar successfully targets students because it provides significant discounts rates for them. Part of Zipcar’s popularity stems from its strategy to target students and build strong connections with colleges and campuses worldwide.To date, Zipcar can be found at over 600 campuses and colleges. Typical to the carsharing industry these rates include gas, insurance, maintenance and dedicated parking spots where the cars “live”. If members book a vehicle, they are charged on an hourly ($7.50) or daily ($69) basis, a cost effective alternative to car ownership. Originally, membership costs was setup as an annual fee ($300) but the original founder adjusted to $70/year or $7/month to make it affordable to most members. To be a member of Zipcar’s program there is a membership fee and usage fee for when you rent the vehicle. Like most station-based carsharing organizations, Zipcar offers a large variety of different vehicle makes and models, including: hybrids, SUVs, pickup trucks, luxury vehicles, minivans, and cargo vans. Today over a million people across 500+ cities and towns globally have access to over 12,000 Zipcars. Today’s slogan has slightly changed to “ Own the trip, not the car ” but still points to the service Zipcar offers: the convenience of a car to easily get to where you want to be without having to worry about the responsibilities and hassles of car ownership such as maintenance and repairs. Zipcar’s famous tagline: “Wheels when you want them” comes from the early days and is contributed to Robin Chase. Originally Zipcar was founded by Antje Danielson and Robin Chase in 2000. Zipcar is a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group which acquired it in 2013.
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