I am pleased to announce that four additional Zipcars are now available in Santa Cruz for use by all eligible UCSC students, staff and faculty. These four vehicles complement the nine cars currently available on campus and downtown with three new off-campus locations:
- Downtown Santa Cruz at the "Walnut Tree" public parking lot on Cedar Street between Union and Center Streets;
- Olive Street at Mission, near the Westside Bike Shuttle pick-up point; and
- Blackburn Street near Laurel Street.
Following its launch in Fall 2007, the UCSC campus quickly became one of the most successful university-oriented Zipcar program sites in the nation. Thanks to the popularity of this program, the County of Santa Cruz is working with Ecology Action, the City of Santa Cruz, and UCSC TAPS to expand car sharing into the community. Of the nearly 900 current members, approximately 20 percent are faculty, staff or community members who reside off-campus—as do many of the student members.
Besides providing additional capacity and convenience to off-campus Zipcar users, this program expansion fulfills an element of the Climate Action Compact between UCSC, the County and City of Santa Cruz. By providing "wheels when you want them," car sharing helps lower your carbon footprint and eliminate the cost of owning your own car.
For more information or to join Zipcar, please go to www.zipcar.com/ucsc or call Teresa Buika, TAPS at 831-502-7941. If you're not yet a Zipcar member, please consider taking a brief survey to help us better understand your needs.
