http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/automobiles/autospecial2/22ZIP.html?ref=autospecial2 By KEN BELSON
Published: October 20, 2009
Dilip Vishwanat for The New York Times
Car sharing began in Europe decades ago and caught on in the United States starting about 10 years ago. But in the last year, services have grown steadily despite, or perhaps because of the recession.
ZipCar, the industry leader, has had its membership jump 30 percent and its revenue rise 25 percent in the last year. The company now has 325,000 members who pay an annual fee of $50 and rent cars for as little as $8 an hour, with gas and insurance included.
?In the downturn, smart consumption has been as important as ever,? said Scott Griffith, chief executive of ZipCar, whose 6,500 cars are in 29 states but are concentrated in New York, Boston and other cities where there are plenty of young drivers who don?t own cars but need them on an ad hoc basis.
Published: October 20, 2009
Dilip Vishwanat for The New York Times
Car sharing began in Europe decades ago and caught on in the United States starting about 10 years ago. But in the last year, services have grown steadily despite, or perhaps because of the recession.
ZipCar, the industry leader, has had its membership jump 30 percent and its revenue rise 25 percent in the last year. The company now has 325,000 members who pay an annual fee of $50 and rent cars for as little as $8 an hour, with gas and insurance included.
?In the downturn, smart consumption has been as important as ever,? said Scott Griffith, chief executive of ZipCar, whose 6,500 cars are in 29 states but are concentrated in New York, Boston and other cities where there are plenty of young drivers who don?t own cars but need them on an ad hoc basis.
