Annoyed by the fixed schedule of public transportation but also tired of the hassle of owning a car, such as paying for registration, gas, and maintenance? Rental car is a convenient intermediate option: you choose the time to drive and avoid the hassle of car ownership. As a University of Michigan (UM) student with a valid Mcard, you enjoy hundreds of discounts, including 25% off at Hertz and 25% off at Avis. This blog will introduce a rental car company called Zipcar, which has great car availability at convenient locations around campus, and how to use its cars.
Join as a member at Zipcar’s dedicated UM page
UM students enjoy a 61% discount on the annual membership fee. You just need to enter your driver’s license information for the application (the application fee is waived for students). The review time varies from a few minutes to two days, as experienced by the blog author. You can view this International Center’s page to learn about getting a Michigan driver’s license. Zipcar mentions in its list of frequently asked questions that it accepts licenses from all over the world.
(Zipcar membership join page)
Book a car at a location convenient to you and with the exact hours you need
The Zipcar app is easier to use than the browser version. Cars are available at both the central and north campus. The hourly price depends on the car’s make and model, whether the driving date is a holiday, and the overall demand in Ann Arbor.
(Zipcar locations in Ann Arbor, denoted by green circles with the letter “Z”)
Tips for using Zipcar
If you cancel a reservation 3 hours or more ahead of the trip start time, you will receive a full refund, but the refund can take 2 business days to return to your bank account.
All Zipcar trips are round trips, which means you need to drive the car to the location where you pick it up. As a result, remember to leave enough time for returning the car.
Zipcar will charge additional fees if you return the car to the wrong location (penalty is $140), return the car late (penalty is $50 per hour), leave the gas tank lower than 25% full (penalty is $30), smoke in the car (penalty is $50 per sign of smoke), or drive more than 180 miles per day ($0.58 per additional mile).
Each car has both an hourly rate and a daily rate, so you can choose at your discretion.
The demand for Zipcar is higher during university and federal holidays, so be sure to book your car in advance.
Drivers between 18 and 24 years old pay a $0.75 per hour young driver fee. This fee is unavoidable.
Appendix for some convenient Zipcar locations around campus
502 Church Street: near Department of Psychology and Mathematics
1000 Hill Street: near Ross School of Business and East Quad
601 Thompson Street: near Michigan Union and South Quad
400 Thompson Street: near Student Activities Building and Z West Apartments
201 Fletcher Street: near Michigan League and University Health Services
1205 Beal Avenue: near College of Engineering and Pierpont Commons
2170 Cram Circle: near Northwood Housing
Written by Terry Wu
Summer Orientation Peer Advisor
Graduate Student
China
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