Students are now relying on an efficient and inexpensive transportation option provided by local car service Zip.  

A Zip member service director, Manuel, said Zipcars bring a lot of access to students to run errands and is a reliable source for transportation. 

“It’s not like a rental car service where you have to be 25 years old; most students aren’t that age but still need a car,” Manuel said. “Also, with everything being online you don’t even need to speak to anyone and the car is right on campus.” 

Zipcar has become a hit with major college campuses, and is now located all over the country. From John Hopkins University to the University of Texas, Zipcar has improved student life as well as contributed to a more sustainable campus. 

Maddie Flentie, a sophomore political science major, first heard about the car service through her freshman year roommate and decided to give it a try. 

“The process of signing up was pretty easy; they asked you the routine information of your driver’s license information and made you sign a basic insurance contract,” Flentie said. “It was really simple, but the difficult part was that once you signed up you had to wait until the card was sent to you, but no one had told us that.” 

Once students receive the card in the mail, it is quick and easy to use a car. Students can locate them right on the Sonoma State University campus in reserved lot D, and they are available 24/7. With only two cars to choose from, students must reserve them in advance.

Zipcar offers an hourly, daily or monthly payment, so students can choose the best option for their budget. Miles, gas and insurance are also included in the fees.

Bailey Oliver, an undeclared sophomore, felt as if it wasn’t really a struggle to get a car, although sometimes on the weekend they seemed to book up a bit faster.

“As a college student, personally I loved the idea of Zipcar, especially as a freshman when quite literally no one had cars,” Oliver said. “We didn’t really need to leave campus for too much anyways, but when we did Zipcar was a perfect form of communication.

“I think that they can do a better job of promoting it, though, because it didn’t seem like too many people knew about it,” Oliver said. “Truthfully, I’m not sure what I would have done if I didn’t have Zipcar for my first year away from home.”