"Anyone who has ever passed by the parking lot located between Penfield Library and the Campus Center has probably noticed two shiny cars parked in reserved spots. The vehicles, a Toyota Matrix and a Toyota Prius are Zipcars. Zipcar is a company dedicated to providing rental cars and encourage car-sharing around the United States including here at Oswego State.
"Michael Flaherty, general manager of Auxiliary Services, estimated that there are 120 students taking advantage of the two Zipcar’s on campus. Flaherty said he was pleased with the amount of use that the Zipcars have already received.
""We’re not judging success by numbers," he said. "The cars are useful for students who use them, and that makes them a success."
"Zipcars provide a mode of transportation for students to run errands, get to Syracuse to visit the mall or even go on road trips. The idea is pretty simple: any student that is 18 or older can fill out an application and pay a fee of $35 to use of one of the Zipcars for $8 per hour. The program is estimated to save an average of $600 per month for students compared with car ownership. These costs cover gas, maintenance and insurance. Once an application has been approved, students can reserve one of the available cars for the date and time they want it for.
"Freshman Andrew Burke said he considered using Zipcars because he cannot afford his own car. Burke often walks from his dorm room into downtown Oswego to see movies or get lunch.
""It seems like a good way to get around, and now that I’m 18, I’ll definitely be looking into it," Burke said.
"Other students are still unaware of how simple it is to apply to use a Zipcar. Senior Danielle Cohen said he never even thought about signing up to use the cars.
""I guess I just assumed that getting permission to use them would take a long time, so I never bothered," Cohen said.
"Oswego State is currently in its second year of a three-year agreement with Zipcar, but Flaherty said the university intends to keep the project beyond the contract.
"Currently, there are no plans to expand the program or get more cars, but Flaherty said, "If demand exceeds supply, which it doesn’t yet, we would definitely add more cars."
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