The City of San Jose and the Zipcar ride sharing company announced today that 15 new Zipcar-owned vehicles may be parked for free at city-owned lots downtown to go with 12 of its cars in nearby private lots, city officials said.
The pilot program, meant to encourage low-cost ride sharing in downtown San Jose, was approved by the San Jose City Council earlier this year and will allow free parking for up to 40 of Zipcar's temporary rental vehicles for up to 18 months, city officials said.
Under its pact with the city, Boston-based Zipcar has to secure at least one private free parking spot for each two public free spots it gets from the city, officials said.
So far, the company has 12 of its self-service cars, which may be rented for about $8 a day for up to 180 miles, stored for free in private lots downtown, officials said.
Of the 15 new cars to be parked at public lots, one is electric-powered and the rest use gasoline, officials said.
The Zipcar system gives workers and tourists the ability to rent cars, unlocked by using a smart card, while downtown in place of their cars thus reducing traffic and fuel use, according to city officials.
"During the pilot, we'll find out how car sharing affects traffic congestion as well as the impact it has on the public using greener modes of transportation when they know they can have on-demand access to a vehicle," Hans Larsen, director of the city's Department of Transportation, said in a prepared statement.
The Zipcar ride-sharing service has more than 767,000 members and a network of more than 10,000 vehicles in 30 makes and models in cities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain and Austria, city officials said.
The pilot program, meant to encourage low-cost ride sharing in downtown San Jose, was approved by the San Jose City Council earlier this year and will allow free parking for up to 40 of Zipcar's temporary rental vehicles for up to 18 months, city officials said.
Under its pact with the city, Boston-based Zipcar has to secure at least one private free parking spot for each two public free spots it gets from the city, officials said.
So far, the company has 12 of its self-service cars, which may be rented for about $8 a day for up to 180 miles, stored for free in private lots downtown, officials said.
Of the 15 new cars to be parked at public lots, one is electric-powered and the rest use gasoline, officials said.
The Zipcar system gives workers and tourists the ability to rent cars, unlocked by using a smart card, while downtown in place of their cars thus reducing traffic and fuel use, according to city officials.
"During the pilot, we'll find out how car sharing affects traffic congestion as well as the impact it has on the public using greener modes of transportation when they know they can have on-demand access to a vehicle," Hans Larsen, director of the city's Department of Transportation, said in a prepared statement.
The Zipcar ride-sharing service has more than 767,000 members and a network of more than 10,000 vehicles in 30 makes and models in cities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain and Austria, city officials said.