Zipcar Expands Car-Share Service For Young Drivers With Harvard Program

Zipcar Expands Car-Share Service For Young Drivers With Harvard Program

By John O'Dell August 18, 2010

Car-sharing service Zipcar is launching what it calls the first Boston-area car-sharing service for under-21 drivers, as the Cambridge, Mass.-based company looks to boost business while preparing to possibly go public later this year.

Zipcar, which is partnering with online social rideshare community Zimride on the new service, based at Harvard University, will double its on-campus fleet to 20 cars and provide as many as 160 cars in the surrounding  areas, the company said.

Zipcar, which has more than 400,000 members and 7,000 vehicles in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., said Harvard has more Zipcar members than any other North American university.

The closely held company, which was founded in 1999, is looking to boost business as it prepares for a possible initial public offering later this year.

Because traditional car rental serices are loathe to rent to drivers under the age of 21, providing wheels for students can be a significant growth area for car-sharing services such as Zipcar, which has programs at scores of colleges and universities around the country.

The company was founded in 1999, merged with Seattle-based Flexcar in 2007 and acquired U.K.-based Streetcar Ltd. in April to expand its London presence. It said in June that it planned to sell shares to the public in order to expand operations and pay down debt.

Car-sharing services like Zipcar charge annual membership fees and members can reserve vehicles for specific blocks of time and drive shared cars for fees that typically run from $8-$15 an hour.

Zipcar optimistically predicted in its June SEC filing that North America car-sharing revenue will jump more than tenfold to $3.3 billion in 2016 from $253 million last year. Such growth has pulled larger, more-established car-rental companies such as Hertz and Enterprise into the car-sharing market.

Danny King, Contributor

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.