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Zipcar, the world's largest car sharing service and leading provider of on campus car sharing programmes, has announced it will be expanding "Zipcar On Campus" to more than 15 new university partners this autumn.

With the expansion, Zipcar on-campus will now be available at more than 50 schools, providing students, faculty, and staff with an environmentally-friendly alternative to the costs and hassles of keeping a car on campus. In the first phase of expansion, Babson College, Bates College, Carnegie Mellon University, Drew University, Middlebury College, Post University, Purchase College, University of Toronto main and Mississauga campuses, Yale University, and York University (Ontario, Canada) will join more than three dozen other colleges and universities across North America currently offering Zipcars on campus. Zipcar plans to announce additional university partners throughout the autumn expanding its service to more than 35 cities in 18 North American states and provinces.

The Zipcar university fleets will include a variety of makes and models of vehicles, including the top EPA rated Toyota Hybrid Prius and Honda Civic as well as SUVs such as the Ford Escape and Honda Element. The scheme is open to all new campus members who sign up for a low annual fee and gain self–service access to Zipcars parked on campus. Vehicles are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week with insurance, petrol, designated parking, and maintenance included in all hourly and daily rates with no additional fees for members under the age of 21.

Scott Griffith, CEO of Zipcar, said:
"Zipcar provides universities with a smart way to reduce parking demand and traffic concerns that is inline with their environmental leadership and commitment to the campus and community lifestyle. With skyrocketing tuition costs and living expenses, Zipcar offers a practical and convenient way for students to get around town at a fraction of the cost of owning and keeping a car on campus."

For university students who cannot or do not want to bring a privately–owned car, Zipcar provides the freedom to travel off campus to attend interviews, run errands, or take weekend trips. Zipcar also slashes monthly transportation costs, saving members an average of $436/month or $5,232/year when compared with car ownership – money that can be put toward other more relevant expenses such as tuition and housing.

Universities can also leverage car sharing to reduce transportation investment requirements. In 2002, MIT pioneered Zipcar on campus to address growing concerns about traffic congestion and rising parking costs. According to school officials there, MIT has saved more than $9 million as a result of Zipcar and other transportation demand management initiatives. Officials at the University of Massachusetts–Boston also report that Zipcar helped save the school and local taxpayers an estimated $200,000 during the first year of partnership.

Zipcar has the largest university programme of any car sharing service, with nearly 20,000 active student and faculty members. Among the colleges that have partnered with Zipcar to reduce traffic, noise and parking demands are MIT, Columbia, Georgetown, Rutgers, American University, Harvard University, University of Minnesota, University of North Carolina and The University of Chicago.<