The Maine Campus Online

Issue date: 11/19/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Noelle Keyser UMaine has two cars: a Toyota Prius and a Mazda 3.

Student Government is maintaining its position that the Zipcar program has been a positive addition to the University of Maine campus; however, the program has been part of the UMaine campus for several months and is not netting the income it was expected to.

Derek Mitchell, who played a large role in bringing the program to UMaine, is still enthusiastic. "The rollout of the Zipcar program has been very successful," he said.

Zipcar is a national company that collaborates with universities to bring shared cars to campus. UMaine has two cars: a Toyota Prius and a Mazda 3. Users must register on-line for a onetime fee of $35, which is credited to their Zipcar account. The driver then receives a Zipcard, which allows access to the vehicle. The cars cost $7 an hour or $55 per day. They can drive 180 miles a day and each additional mile is 35 cents. There is no cost to the university to utilize the Zipcar program, other than to provide parking spaces. However, if Zipcar does not net the required $1,500 a month per car, the school must pay. In UMaine's case, Student Government is responsible for these potential fees, and they set aside $5,000 at the beginning of the year for this purpose.

The Zipcar program at UMaine currently has about two dozen students participating, according to Mitchell. The cars are currently being used at a rate of five to seven hours per day. However, Mitchell admits that usage needs to be in the eight to nine hour range. Mitchell said that Student Government has sent postcards to all residents, and e-mail and paper advertising has been put into effect. Letters will be sent out to parents to encourage them to have their son or daughter sign up for the program.

There is no specific date for Student Government to decide whether it is worth it to keep the program. "We will constantly evaluate usage, sign-ups and overall utilization and the cost to Student Government," Mitchell said. He is not sure when a final decision will be made, but he estimates Student Government will come to a conclusion in January.

First-year sustainable agriculture major Sterling Doiron said that he heard of the Zipcar Program "through numerous advertisements on FirstClass and flyers in my mailbox. The program was also brought up during a Green Campus Initiative meeting recently."

"The GCI does support the program and will when needed," Doiron said. "Currently, most members are walking to class, utilizing public transportation or using their personal bicycle."

According to the Zipcar Web site, one Zipcar can take up to twenty privately owned vehicles off the road. Students were not quick to agree with this statement.

"I would say the statistic is accurate in other parts of the country where the program is located, but not on campus," Doiron said.

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