Car sharing club Zipcar is targeting airports for new business utilising the infrastructure of its car rental parent Avis.
Speaking at a Frost & Sullivan conference in London looking at future urban mobility, Mark Walker, General Manager at Zipcar UK, told delegates that becoming part of Avis has opened up more opportunities for Zipcar.
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“One of the immediate things we have done is take advantage of the Avis presence at airports,” Walker said. “Not only do our members benefit from having easy access to cars near where they live and work, but they have also got them when they travel. In the future we have more plans to leverage this family relationship which we enjoy.”
Zipcar is also doing more business with SMEs. “’Zipcar for Business’ is a convenient, flexible and cost effective transport solution for urban SMEs,” Walker said. “It offers businesses a variable cost model with no up-front capital commitment. So you have fleet when you need it, not when you don’t and it’s one less non-core distraction.”
Walker also said that cities around the world are struggling to keep up with the new models for mobility that are emerging rapidly. “These models are moving so fast and they are so disruptive, that it is very hard for cities to keep up. A lot of the current laws and regulations that are in place are not really designed to handle these new models and new ways of consuming mobility. Those cities that can evolve and adapt to these new models will thrive. Those that don’t will become a nightmare.”
“Car sharing and public transport have a symbiotic relationship that is there to be exploited.
“Policy doesn’t always reflect this. We need to remove some sticks and provide more carrots. To take London as an example. When it comes to parking (important to us), we don’t just have to deal with one authority, we have to deal with 33 different boroughs who control parking in London. That’s why the adoption of car sharing varies from borough to borough.”
Walker also noted that Transport for London has just changed the congestion charge in London. “In 2014 that change will cost car sharing operators over GBP1m – that’s not quite joined up. We need bold actions and policies to demonstrate that there are responsible ways to drive in a city, namely by being a car sharing member.
“We want integrated access to all modes of transport – there’s a wide consensus on that. We could have cross mode discounts, so for example, if you are a car-sharing member you get a discount on your [rail] season ticket. And bundles are a possibility…so you could offer a bundle of say, 12 days on the Tube and 4 days in a car-sharing car. This is the way we need to go in the future, operators and regulators working closely so that cities will survive the mass migration.”
