Zipcar: Not just for urbanites anymore

Some county residents give up car keys, rely on public transportation and car-sharing service

Pell said that giving up his 1994 Acura Integra has saved him money on gas and car repairs. "It's to the point now where every repair is $1,000 or more Öwhen once or twice a year you're dropping $1,000 to $1,500, you start to question whether it's worth it or not," he said.

Pell joined Washington-area dieters and now carpools to his work in Rockville in the morning with a roommate, and takes the bus back to Beltsville in the evening. Pell hasn't used a Zipcar yet, but plans to soon.

Even though he lives in the suburbs, Pell said that going car-free isn't just for urbanites.

"I've learned that it's possible for someone who lives 45 minutes from where they work, where both locations are in the suburbs, to still live without a car," he said.

Zipcar charges a yearly fee of $50, with hourly rates starting at $9 and daily rates starting at $67, and includes gas and insurance. The service has boomed in urban areas, where many residents use public transportation and Zipcar for occasional driving needs in order to save costs associated with owning a car.

However, outside major metropolitan areas, more residents are catching on, according to Ellice Perez, general manager for Zipcar in the Washington region. Zipcar membership in Montgomery County increased 30 percent over the last quarter, she said.

"We have a handful of cars at the different Metros extending out to Shady Grove," Perez said. "Many of them extend out to the suburbs and they do very well out there."

Many county residents are ideal members for Zipcar because they may already use the Metro to commute into Washington for work, Perez said.

About 40 percent of new members have come to Zipcar because of the increase in gas prices, Perez said. "It's been a great opportunity for us because so many people are recognizing that they can put the cost of gas on us," Perez said.

According to a 2005 study conducted by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Zipcar users report a 46 percent increase in public transit trips, a 10 percent increase in bike trips and a 26 percent increase in walking trips.

"They were looking for people who were looking for alternative means of transportation, and I was getting tired of my commute," said Jitesh Batra, 30, a project manager with Fannie Mae who is also participating in the low-car diet. Batra, who lives near the Grosvenor Metro station, used to drive 45 minutes to get to his work in Reston, Va. While it takes him a bit longer, he said he doesn't miss getting stuck in traffic, and he expects to save about $250 on gas this month.

For Aaron Grose, 30, who lives with his girlfriend in Silver Spring, the challenge encouraged him to get rid of one of the couple's two cars.

Grose said that he relies on the Metro and walking to get most places, but also occasionally uses Zipcar. "It can be a little complicated sometimes, and that's where Zipcar comes in very handy ñ when I need to travel outside the mass transit area," Grose said.

Zipcar has touted the service's environmental impacts in helping get cars off the road. Car sharing will prevent more than 221,000 tons of carbon emissions in 2008, according to a Zipcar study.

Planning trips ahead of time is one major caveat to a car-less life style, dieters say.

"The main challenge is knowing in advance where you need to be and when you need to be there," Grose said. "But in general, it hasn't been extremely difficult."