Due to increased demand, the popular car-sharing service Zip Car has awarded Notre Dame a fifth vehicle for campus. The vehicle, a Ford Focus Hatchback, will reside in a previously allocated parking spot in the B16 parking lot.
Since the program’s creation in 2010, over 1600 students, staff and faculty have signed up for the service. In the past year alone an average of 4500 miles were driven each month by over 100 different individuals, totaling over 63,000 miles for the year. In fact, the service has been so popular that both St. Mary’s and Irish Row have started their own fleets with two cars each.
Zipcars are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to all students, faculty, and staff members, ages 18 and older. Gas, 180 miles per day, insurance, reserved parking spots and roadside assistance are included in the hourly and daily Zipcar rates. Cars can be reserved for as short as an hour or for up to four days. Rates on all ND vehicles start as low as $7.50 per hour and $69 per day (24 hours). ND students, faculty and staff can join at www.zipcar.com/notredame.
“Students wanted a car-sharing service that helps to eliminate the need for them to bring their own cars to campus,” said Erin Hafner, Programs Manager for the Office of Sustainability. “Zipcar provides not only students, but the entire Notre Dame community, with a greater freedom to run errands, attend meetings, or get away for the weekend, without the hassle of owning a car.”
Three of the cars on Notre Dame’s campus reside in the B16 lot and the remaining two are conveniently located in the bookstore parking lot. The fleet includes one Toyota Prius, one Honda Civic and three Ford Focus Hatchbacks which are categorized as large capacity vehicles because they provide enough room for a bike or a small dresser.
Zipcar has established partnerships with more than 200 universities, including Indiana University, Yale, University of Virginia, and Georgetown. Zipcar utilizes a network of local vendors to service and clean its fleet.
For more information, including how to enroll in Zipcar at the University of Notre Dame, please visit www.zipcar.com/notredame.