Zipcar members are able to reserve a Chevy Volt immediately starting at just $10 per hour. The first five Volts are available at Cityfront Place Apartments and in University Village at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Zipcar plans on deploying EVs throughout the city and is working with 350Green to install EV charging stations where the Zipcar EVs will be. Other partners in the program include Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Tishman Speyer, LAZ Parking and Cityfront Place Apartments. All of the above are helping to provide locations for the EVs along with charging stations.
Since most Zipcar members employ the use of their vehicles for less than 35 miles, the Volt is a perfect fit – or any EV for that matter – for the Zipcar program. Ideally most members would never have to pay for gas since the EVs will have charging stations conveniently located at several locations.
The City of Chicago is installing hundreds of EV charging stations for public use throughout the year as part of its Chicago Climate Action Plan. Zipcar has always been a huge supporter of advanced vehicle technologies. It was the first car sharing company in the U.S. to add EVs to its fleet with the Toyota RAV4 EVs in Boston back in 2002 and was the first to offer hybrids in the Seattle market in 2003.
“We are looking forward to providing our Chicago Zipsters with increased opportunities to reduce their environmental impact and drive some of the most technologically-advanced vehicles on the road as we roll out this EV program over the coming months,” said Charles Stephens, general manager, Zipcar Chicago. “Freedom has always been a hallmark of the Zipcar experience, and now members can have the best of both worlds – the low carbon experience of an electric car with the back-up security of a gas engine – as we introduce the new Volts into our fleet this week.”
