Zipcar Usage at UCSC Zooms to Top of Car-Share's University Programs Nationwide

UCSC's partnership with Zipcar, a car-sharing service, has become the most well-utilized and fastest-growing car-share program of any university in the nation. 

The reason for the program's rapid growth here is twofold, said Teresa Buika, campus transportation planner.

"One of the main reasons it's so successful is we have a lot of residential freshmen and sophomores, and they're prohibited from bringing cars to campus," she said.

The campus barred residential freshmen and sophomores from having cars on campus years ago as a congestion-cutting and parking-relief move. About 75-80 percent of students living on campus are freshmen and sophomores.

Also, she said, the program has "kind of a 'green' focus," with its Priuses and other fuel-efficient cars and its business model of shared resources.

Many of the people using the service "are conscious of their carbon footprint and concerned about climate change, and want to make sustainable "green" choices," said Pageler.

For information about the Zipcar program at UCSC, visit the campus's Zipcar page.

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