Zipcar's Urban Mobility Revolution Rolls Into Ferndale

FERNDALE, MI – Residents of Ferndale can now participate in a revolution in urban mobility.

Zipcar, the world’s largest car sharing network, has partnered with the city of Ferndale to officially launch in the city.

The company, a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group Inc., has operations on more than 500 college campuses and in more than 500 cities and towns across eight countries.

Stay Connected

• Subscribe to the free daily Ferndale Patch newsletter and news alerts.
• Like Ferndale Patch on Facebook

Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter said more details of the partnership would be shared at a 5:30 p.m. ribbon cutting at Shiffler Park, 43 W. Nine Mile Road, where some vehicles in the new Zipcar fleet would be on display.

Mayor Pro Tem Melanie Piana and Zipcar’s Detroit market manager, Monica Wejman, were also expected to attend.

Zipcar already has a presence in the area after launching in Detroit in 2013. It also has operations in Ann Arbor, where the University of Michigan is located.

Zipcar, founded in Cambridge, MA, in 1999 by Antje Danielson and Robin Chase, was acquired for about $500 million by Avis in 2013.

“A problem that I personally had, which was that I wanted to use a car sometimes, and I definitely didn’t want to own one,” Chase told Fortune. “If we think about car rental, it’s a pain in the neck. It takes you 20 minutes to stand in that line, it’s inconvenient, and you have to do it in 24-hour bundles. I really wanted a car by the hour that was right in my neighborhood — and I saw that the technology that was available was ripe for being used in that way.”

Zipcar charges a one-time application fee, an annual fee and a reservation charge. Fuel, parking, insurance and maintenance are included in the price.

Image credit: Mariordo Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz via Wikimedia / Creative Commons