Rental car service hired

By Annie Cheung

Starting next quarter, rental cars will be available on campus for individuals 18 years and older.

Santa Clara officially signed a contract with the Zipcar company two weeks ago. Zipcar is a car-sharing company, which allows its members to rent a car on an hourly or daily basis. Membership is available to anyone over the age of 18 for the Santa Clara program, but only individuals 21 and older can use other Zipcar locations around the country.

"We hope to have people signing up for membership at the end of the quarter and launching at the beginning of next quarter," said Jeanne Rosenberger, vice provost for student life and dean of students.

The rates for the cars will be $8 per hour with a $64 maximum per day. There is also a $25 membership fee to join the program, which is rebated at the time of first use.

Membership with Zipcar includes a gas card, insurance, 24/7 roadside assistance, maintenance and 180 miles per day. In order to become a member, renters must have a valid driver's license and proof of insurance.

"Since freshmen aren't allowed to have cars, I think it's a really cool idea," freshman Danny Franks said. "I would definitely use it to go up hiking in Los Gatos or down to the beach at Santa Cruz."

Car reservations are made online through the Zipcar Web site and the cars will be parked in the parking lot near Buck Shaw Stadium.

Members will have a card, which will unlock the car using chip technology at the time of a reservation. The keys to each car will be in the glove boxes.

Santa Clara will be getting two cars initially, according to Matt Cameron, assistant vice provost for student life. "Based on usage, that number might grow," he said. "To start, the university wanted one hybrid car and one high mileage car."

Those cars include a Toyota Matrix and a Toyota Prius, which will cost the university $1500 and $1600 per month, respectively. However, that cost will decrease with increased usage of the cars.

"It is not inconceivable that there will be no rent to pay by the university," Cameron said. "On the other hand, if the cars are never used then the university will pay the full amount."

The need for Zipcars on campus was found through an associated student's survey done last spring, university statistics about the number of cars on campus and estimates on the number of people that commute to the university via bike, bus and train.

"I don't have a car here, and I'm a sophomore, so I think a lot of students will use the cars, not just freshmen," said sophomore Katie Strandberg.

Research on the car-sharing idea started as long as three years ago, when Jon Gray, director of the center for student leadership, and Katherine Quinn-Shea, current vice president of Associated Students, proposed the concept. At that time, it did not move past the idea stage, according to Quinn-Shea.

Courtney Seymour, organizational development vice president, revived the idea last year. "I saw a need, and sought to fill it, but I'm surprised it is actually happening," she said.

Seymour, Quinn-Shea and Cameron met frequently last year to research the program at other universities and put together a report for the administration.

With the contract now signed, Santa Clara and Zipcar will be moving forward quickly, according to Rosenberger. "We have a launch conference call with Zipcar on Nov. 11 to discuss the details of how the program will work," she said. The Provost's Office, Campus Safety, the Office of Sustainability and AS will have representatives present.

"It was the convergence of a lot of things, including sustainability becoming a focus," said Cameron of Zipcar's Santa Clara arrival. "And sometimes the time is just right."

Contact Annie Cheung at accheung@scu.edu or (408) 554-4546.