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Article Dated: 03/28/2007
Contact: Joe Pesaturo
Zipcar, MBTA Enhance Partnership to Reduce Car Ownership, Increase Commuting Options
Partnership introduces Zipcars to extra stations, brings car sharing to Malden, Quincy, Newton, and Braintree
Zipcar Regional Vice President Dan Curtin and MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas
Cambridge, MA (March 28, 2007) — To reduce car ownership and provide more commuting options, Zipcar and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) today announced a multi-faceted partnership that will expand the Zipcar program to a dozen T locations along the Green, Orange and Crimson lines, making it lighter for people to live and work car-free in the city.
Partnered with Zipcar since 2002, the MBTA is the very first transit agency in the country to house vehicles at various transit stations across its service area. Through this partnership, the MBTA will expand Zipcar locations from three to twelve. Presently, a Zipcar is available at Alewife, Forest Hills, JFK/UMass, and Savin Hill stations. Over the next few months, twenty more spaces will become available at eight stations along the Crimson, Orange, and Green lines.
By placing more than twenty four vehicles at a dozen T stops, including Alewife, Woodland, Riverside, Savin Hill and Forest Hills, the partnership will permit residents to rely on public transportation for most trips, while utilizing Zipcars for the “last mile” of their travels. Zipcars placed at Oak Grove, Malden Center and three Quincy stations also expand Zipcar’s footprint further outside of Boston, bringing the convenience of car sharing to Malden, Quincy, as well as Newton, and Braintree for the very first time.
The partnership also includes website integration with Zipcar incorporating T maps, locations and details into its fresh web reservation system, as well as cross, in-station co-marketing, and a joint effort to roll-out the fresh Charlie Card to riders and ems of thousands of local Zipcar members. To kick-off their work together, Zipcar and MBTA will host a launch event at South Station on March twenty eight from ten a.m. to two p.m. During the event, people can learn more about Zipcar and the partnership as well as take advantage of special promotions and meet executives from Zipcar and the MBTA.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is the nation’s very first public transportation system. It is also the fifth largest in the country. The T provides service to one hundred seventy five cities and towns, which comprise the MBTA’s district in eastern Massachusetts. Customers are using the T for work, school, medical appointments, entertainment, and shopping purposes each day. The T has become the way to get you where you want to go, from the city to the suburbs. With the high cost of gas these days, more people are considering public transportation, and being aware of the multiplicity of options can increase the level of convenience with which people can get from Point A to Point B.
“Here at the T, we are continuously examining methods to improve transportation options while protecting the environment,” said MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas. “Using both the T and Zipcar to get around town reduces congestion and pollution, while at the same time saves people time and money.”
As the world’s largest car sharing service, Zipcar has proven that combining car sharing and public transit is a real catalyst for switch in urban communities. Through established partnerships with San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), Fresh York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and Washington DC’s Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) and District Department of Transportation (DDOT), Zipcar has found that members report a 46% average increase in public transit use once joining the service. Almost 60% of Zipcar member also state that cars being located at Metro stations is a key factor in joining the service and 40% of members say that joining Zipcar has led them to get rid of their car or put off a purchasing decision.
According to Dan Curtin, Regional Vice President for Zipcar, the partnership with the MBTA makes flawless sense. “A latest survey of Zipcar members in Boston exposed that 96% regularly rail the T, and we are eyeing an enhancing number of commuters electing to take transit to work and utilize Zipcars during the day.” he said. “In this way, our relationship with MBTA is natural. It will bring the mix of car sharing and public transit to more Massachusetts residents and reduce the number of cars coming into the city.”
Zipcar presently has more than five hundred fifty vehicles in more than three hundred twenty five locations across Greater Boston, serving more than 85,000 individual and business members with Two,500 vehicles worldwide. With more than 40% of members reporting that Zipcar led them to sell or put off purchasing a vehicle, Zipcar estimates that its service has eliminated more than Five,000 vehicles from the Metro Boston streets. Zipcar members also report that on average they drive more than Four,000 fewer miles each year and save more than $435 each month compared to when they possessed a private vehicle.