For those of you unfamiliar with the service, Zipcar is a rental agency where cars are strategically placed around town for use when you need them. You go online, select the date and time block you need the car for and select the closest available car. As other people may be waiting to use the car when you are done, there are still penalties for failing to bring it back to it’s home spot in time. It’s actually very convenient in cities where many people would rather not own a car full time.
Well, one of the failings of this system is IT DOES NOT FUCKING WORK IF YOU TAKE THE GODDAMN KEYS WITH YOU WHEN YOU LEAVE!
This is the first time it’s happened to me. Usually the key is wired to the dashboard so you can’t accidently take it.
I’ve noticed in the past year or so they’ve added more cars, but I’ve been having more problems with things like keys missing or stuff not working.
In this particular case, they found me a replacement car, but it was in the next town over. By the time I finished dealing with them, called a cab and found the new car, I had wasted an hour. not to mention I had to return it to the same spot and then find my way home again.
The bigger issue is if it had been a busy weekend and a car wasn’t available, my plans would have been fucked.
I’ve no idea about Zipcars, but in Streetcars you have a RFID card which you put up against a reader inside on the windscreen which unlocks the doors (or if you’ve forgotten your card you phone them up and they unlock it remotely). Then you enter a PIN and immobiliser is disabled, then you take keys from glovebox and off you go.
(You have to book in advance, but only about 15 minutes)
And yeah, I’d advise them for anyone living in a city*. Even if you’re thinking “I have a car”, sell it, buy something else far more fun, and sign up to one of these schemes. Even on a marginal cost basis they work out cheaper than essentially any other car, and you can buy something fun to keep on the road instead.
If I can intrude a factual question on this rant thread, how much does membership cost in the UK? There’s a car about a mile from here, and another a short busride away, so it might be practical.
I fully support the OP’s rant though; my main reason for renting this would be to meet Someone at the airport (the terminus for the coach service is not the nicest place in town). Having that mucked up would upset both of us.
I use zipcar a lot. In DC, I’ve never seen one that didn’t have the keys attached to the dash. Did the user have to break the wire off its moorings to take it with him?
I’m a big fan of Zipcar here in New York. It’s about 50/50 whether they have the keys on a lanyard attached to the dash.
However, every car that I’ve used of theirs has been in an attended parking garage, and when I return them, the attendants habitually ask me whether I’ve left the key. I’ve never had a problem.
This is a design flaw, the keys shouldn’t be removable. I AUTOMATICALLY take my keys with me when I turn off the car, I’ve trained myself to do this. I imagine that most drivers have similar habits, unless they use a Zipcar a lot.
Cost. Question for the OP. Did Zipcar cover your cab fare, or at least give you a free car? If not, you should call them back and tell them they should.
Those still use a keyfob, which still leaves the “taking it with you” problem intact.
“Keyless starters” are also more confusing in emergency situations where you might want to shut down the car’s engine, like in those “out of control Toyota” cases - you have to press and hold the start button for three seconds, I think. I’m pretty sure I’d read that in at least one of the Toyota cases, the driver didn’t know how to shut down the keyless start engine in an emergency, and that it was a rental.
