Borough Now Home to Two Zipcar Stations

Two new vehicles have made Collingswood their permanent home.

Just outside of , and across from , sits a silver Nissan Sentra, the words Zipcar emblazoned on its sides. Not too far down the road, a Honda CR-V will be parked near the Collingswood PATCO high speedline station.

Zipcar has comes to Collingswood, making the borough its first South Jersey location for the international car-sharing program. The company installed signage with information pamphlets on the sidewalk this past Wednesday.

"(The Collingswood Zipcar station) will provide residents, local businesses and visitors with increased access to affordable, convenient transportation options that are proven to reduce congestion and emissions," said the company's official press release.

The vehicles will occupy reserved spots marked with Zipcar signage. Both sites were chosen by Zipcar because they have public transportation nearby, and because they're known for having high foot-traffic.

“We’ve had requests for car-sharing for some time now, and we’re excited to bring this (incentive) to residents and visitors,” said Mayor James Maley. “Zipcar is a natural fit here. Collingswood is all about walkability, and (each station) serves residents looking to scale back.”

Zipcar said the stations will reduce the borough's carbon footprint by giving locals access to self-service vehicles on an hourly or daily basis, in order to eliminate the cost and inconvenience of owning a car.

The brand has more than 9,000 vehicles shared by over 605,000 individuals across the country. Zipcar General Manager of Philadelphia Peter Bruvik said program officials chose Collingswood as a two-station vehicle site for multiple reasons.

“Collingswood is highly regarded as a walkable and pedestrian-friendly community, and we’re very excited to offer its residents a new, convenient, flexible and cost-effective alternative for getting around town,” Bruvik said. “We’re thrilled to have a presence in South Jersey, and we believe this program will be a complement to many of the other area neighborhoods around Philadelphia where we have recently introduced car sharing, including West Oak Lane, Mt. Airy, Germantown, Manayunk and Fern Rock.”

On their way home from school Wednesday, borough students noticed the new Haddon Avenue station and huddled around the vehicle to read a Zipcar pamphlet.

"My parents already have a car, but I still think this is really cool," said Ava Engstrom, 11. "It's really good to be energy-efficient. I never really liked how people treat the environment."

Engstrom was proud her hometown was chosen as one of the sites where Zipcar is housed worldwide.

"(Installing two stations in Collingswood) makes me feel like we're important enough to have Zipcars," she said.