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This post was created in partnership with Zipcar. I did receive compensation. All opinions are my own.
Whether you have kids in college or not, the back-to-school college buzz is hard to miss. It’s happening right now. Walk into any big box store over the next few months and I can promise you that you’ll be bombarded with all the “necessities” for dorm living coming at you in every color imaginable.
Thankfully my kids are a few years away from college. I don’t think I could handle an empty nest anytime soon. Right now I’m having enough trouble dealing with a few weeks of overnight camp [2].
When I was in college having a car on campus wasn’t an option. The university I went to was car friendly, but parking spots were hard to come by.
At that time college transportation options were few-buy a car, use a bike, a scooter, public transportation (which didn’t get you most places) or walk.
I ended up getting a scooter, something like the one pictured below. I hope I didn’t look like this guy when I was riding.
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Having a scooter was such a cool ride. Parking was a breeze. Pull up and park at any bike rack.
Times have changed and now even scooter parking spots are hard to come by. Plus the cost of the scooter and insurance isn’t cheap.
Thankfully if you’re headed to college today there are many more sustainable options for transportation.
What is Zipcar?
Have you noticed the Zipcar symbol on cars zipping around town? 
[4] For those of you aren’t familiar with Zipcar [5], it’s a car sharing service.
Car sharing programs like Zipcar are an important component of a sustainable transportation network on university campuses where parking is often in high demand.
Each Zipcar can meet the needs of between 40 and 60 students, faculty and staff, helping to make parking on campus a little more manageable. And at a time when campuses have been forced to ration parking spots, offering Zipcar is a great way to give people an option.
Zipping around College Campus: What is Zipcar for Universities?
This is where mom and dad with a kid or two headed off to college should really tune in.
Zipcar for Universities [5] is all about the convenience of having a car without the hassles of having a car on campus. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?
Zipcar pioneered the use of car sharing on college campuses. They first partnered with MIT and then Harvard. Now Zipcar is on over 350 colleges and university campuses across North America. It’s easy to check if your school is on the list [6].
Discount for You Through Zipcar’s Alliance with Ford University
Zipcar has an alliance with Ford Motor Company that enables them to offer $10 off the $35 annual membership fee for the first 100,000 new university members who sign up, plus $1 off the Zipcar hourly rate for the first 1 million hours of use on any of the new Ford vehicles at participating colleges and universities.
Here’s How Zipcar works
After paying the annual fee of $25 you’re ready to roll [6]. Zipcar charges by the hour for use of a Zipcar. No car ownership required! No car payments, no gas payments and no costly car insurance.
Zipcar for Sustainability
Traffic on campus creates significant pollution and emissions. Many schools have programs like transit passes, bike lockers, ride sharing and others that get people to campus without a car. Zipcar gives these people access to a car on campus without needing to drive one to campus. This helps reduce the carbon footprint and increase air quality.
This combination of benefits – cost savings, convenience and fun for students along with practical and cost saving options for universities is what is driving the expansion of Zipcar on campuses across the country.
Using Zipcar while at school is an eco-friendly and financially sound option.
Using a Zipcar is simple: Grab a Zipcar near campus and use it for an hour or day. Gas and insurance included. Join Zipcar and get $10 off the first-year membership.
TO JOIN: First check if your school has a Zipcar program HERE [6]then click HERE [7] to join.
Have you tried Zipcar? I’d love to hear what you think.
[8]Disclosure: I’ve been chosen as an official Zipcar influencer. I’m incredibly honored to be given this opportunity since I believe in what Zipcar is doing. This post was created in partnership with Zipcar. I did receive compensation and there are affiliate links which help support this blog. All opinions are my own.
photo credit: James Alby [9] via photopin [10] cc [11]