Schools

Roger Williams University Partners with Zipcar, Benefits Students and Locals

The transportation option is now available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to all students, faculty, and staff ages 18 and older, as well as members of the local community ages 21 and over.

Local residents as well as  students, faculty and staff will benefit from the school's recent partnership with Zipcar, Inc., that offers a Zipcar car-sharing program on campus.

According to a release, the cost-effective and convenient transportation option is now available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to all students, faculty, and staff ages 18 and older, as well as members of the local community ages 21 and over.

Tim Lebell, a freshman student from Connecticut hung out at the Zipcar tent on Wednesday afternoon to get more information about the new program.

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"I think I may do it," Lebell said. "It's pretty convenient and the cars will be parked right across from my dorm."

The new partnership is particularly appealing to freshmen at the university, as first year students are not allowed to have cars on campus.

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Freshman Sarah Fish applied for a membership well aware that her friends would start bumming rides when she would use the car. She says many students hate that they can't have a car on campus because they have to rely on shuttles and bus services to get around.

"I'm signing up because RIPTA is horrible," Fish said. "This is way more convenient and I won't have to worry about planning around the RIPTA and shuttle schedule if I want to go somewhere."

Roger Williams University members can join for $25, with rates for on campus Zipcar vehicles starting as low as $7 per hour and $66 per day. Gas, insurance, reserved parking spots, up to 180 miles of driving per day and roadside assistance are included in the hourly and daily Zipcar rates.

Scott Yonan, Assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs and Director of Special Projects, says that the partnership offers another alternative for students to get around during the school year.

"Normally students under the age of 25 would not be eligible to rent a car from places like Hertz or Enterprise, but with Zipcar, they've lowered the age to 18 which makes it perfect for freshmen and other students," Yonan said. "The main point in this is to give students another alternative for getting around, but it also has the potential to be a very "green" thing. It may be more feasible for students to leave their cars at home and use the Zipcars instead. Plus, if students have to pay to use the cars by the hour, they probably won't just go out driving around with no destination."

Roger Williams University will initially offer two vehicles, including a Ford Focus and a Honda Civic, which will be located in campus lots near Maple Hall. Zipcars are self-service and can be easily reserved and accessed 24 hours a day.

“We are thrilled to welcome Roger Williams University to the Zipcar University program, and are excited to help the campus offer convenient, cost-effective and sustainable transportation options for its students, faculty and staff,” said Michael Serafino, General Manger, Zipcar Universities.  “Zipcar will help make it easier for students to get around town, as well as run personal errands like picking up groceries, going to the mall or even getting away for the weekend. And, further benefiting the campus community, Zipcar will help to reduce congestion on campus, helping reduce Roger Williams’ overall carbon footprint.”

For more information, including how to become a member of Zipcar at Roger Williams University, please visit www.zipcar.com/rwu.


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