What kind of company is zipcar

Remember Me. Lost your password? Zipcar has established itself as the leader of cars on demand. Their business model is to provide an efficient, easy to use and trusted alternative to facilitate transportation and defy the need for traditional car ownership. With over , members and more than 10, vehicles in urban areas, the system that Zipcar has in place is mostly automatized and depends heavily on the community.

The operating model of the company has several characteristics that reflect the effectiveness of the business. These can be summarized in the following elements:.

The platform is extremely simple to understand. Through the phone or the computer, every member can see all the zipcars that are available when and where needed. With only one tap, a member can reserve a car.

As soon as your rental time starts, your card will activate and open the car. You just have to walk to the car you selected. You can drive wherever you want. All of them are covered by the price and the membership. Just be aware of the time you selected to return it. June 3, Michael Evans. August 27, Cynthia Paez Bowman. Does personal auto insurance cover Zipcar? What coverage does Zipcar insurance provide? For example, if you run a stop sign and cause an accident, this coverage would pay for injuries sustained by the people in the other car.

Property damage liability : This coverage pays for property damage caused by the Zipcar driver. For example, if you need physical therapy after an accident, this coverage might pay for it. For example, if an uninsured driver runs a stop sign and causes an accident that injures you, this coverage would pay for the resulting expenses like medical bills and loss of wages. Zipcar coverage has changed over time Zipcar insurance rules have changed over the years, and some Zipcar drivers may get more insurance than the state minimum if they signed up for a Zipcar membership before July 31, What happens when you damage a Zipcar?

Standard protection is free-of-charge. Premium protection : This plan removes damage fees altogether, so members will not have to pay a fee if they damage the car. The takeaway Zipcar insurance is automatic, but personal insurance policies offer greater protection. Zipcar insurance only covers members up to the state minimum. Personal auto insurance can protect Zipcar drivers in costly accidents. Check with your insurance provider to see how they handle rentals. Their cars are located in fixed parking spots which can be looked up via the Zipcar app or on their web pages.

This is a significant improvement compared to the classical car renting models who are mainly based somewhere near airports, making pick-up and drop-off a prohibitive effort to start with. Uber offers the convenience of the car coming to you, i.

Both the on-demand as well as the platform businesses must minimise transaction costs at least for the frequent transactions. Both, Zipcar as well as Uber use technology instead of humans for coordination tasks. Uber brings two parties often peers in touch while providing clear guidelines on their interactions. Where necessary they will need to have an arbitration process. Nevertheless, they both have to keep transactions lean.

Trust is important for any company. But it is more important for newer and less known companies. This affects all areas of the business, starting from making business with them to feeling comfortable with the offering. It starts with giving out credit card information. This may be equally stated about any country. But having to run TV commercials or other expensive forms of ads is exactly that: an expensive way to be trusted. And it may not work for many young companies.

You can imagine how steep the trust barrier would be if the payments had to be conducted between peers. Sharing economy companies do not use any cash payments nor peer-to-peer payments. All payments directly go to the company. Depending on the type of business many other safety measures are being put in place. Both Zipcar and Uber have requirements to the age and inspections of their vehicles. Uber additionally has to put checks into place regarding the driver driving history, criminal background, etc.

Similar considerations apply t0 the liability and insurance. Zipcar, as well as Uber, have their insurances covering a range of accidents but of course, there will always be those tricky ones that one ever thinks of. In any case provision of some insurance for the most anticipated case is a basic expectation. For Uber, there are additional challenges on this to ensure driver and rider safety.

This applies to all sharing economy companies to a varying degree. As many of them enable peer-to-peer transactions, the company has a responsibility to manage the risks that can occur during and even after those human interactions. Pay-per-use companies own the assets or services that they provide. It means they have direct influence over its condition. Platform businesses do less so. If it is a neighbourhood good that you borrow from someone or take a ride with an Uber driver, the condition of the asset drill, mower or car is managed by the owner.