Washington Nationals Become First Professional Sports Franchise to Commit to Car Sharing

Zipcar named The Official Car Sharing Company of The Washington Nationals

CAMBRIDGE, MA and WASHINGTON, DC (September 27, 2005) — Zipcar, the country’s largest provider of self-service cars for use by the hour or day, and the Washington Nationals, the District’s new baseball team, today announced that Zipcar has been named The Official Car Sharing Company of the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team, making the Nationals the first professional sports franchise in the United States to commit to using car sharing for day-to-day marketing and operations. As gas prices in the metropolitan area continue to rise, Zipcar and the Washington Nationals will also work to encourage residents to use car sharing as a way to get to and from Nationals games.

Under an agreement between Zipcar and the Nationals, a co-branded Zipcar will be exclusively dedicated to the Nationals organization for promotional and business use. Screech, the official mascot of the Nationals, will use the vehicle during game promotions, pre-game festivities, and for transportation to and from appearances and events throughout the Washington metro area. As part of the agreement, the Nationals organization will join Zipcar as a Z2B (Zipcar to Business) client, making all Zipcars throughout the country available to Washington Nationals employees for team business.

The partnership also includes cross promotions, shared advertising and giveaways as part of a joint effort by the Nationals organization and Zipcar to encourage D.C. residents to use public transportation and car sharing as a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly way to travel to Nationals games. Beginning immediately, anyone who attends a Zipcar-sponsored Nationals home game can use a special promotional code for a discounted Zipcar membership at http://www.zipcar.com/nationals/ and current Zipcar members will have access to discounted tickets to select Nationals home games.

According to Carleen Martin, director, marketing and promotions for the Washington Nationals, car sharing is a practical, cost-effective solution that makes sense for the team. “We have Zipcars available for our staff whenever we need them, and Screech, our mascot, now has the Screechmobile to drive to all of his appearances,” she said.

“As big fans of the Washington Nationals, Zipcar is particularly excited about providing the team’s employees with car sharing as a new transportation alternative, and working with the organization to create a unique co-branded promotional vehicle,” said Gabe Klein, regional vice president of Zipcar. “This is a tremendous example of the variety of ways car sharing can be used to fit into all sorts of business needs, and how a prominent, influential organization can be an effective advocate for change in its community.”

The Washington Nationals join 45,000 personal and business drivers across the country that have turned to Zipcar as a means of having transportation freedom without the costs and hassles of car ownership. The Z2B Program was started in 2004 to provide businesses with self-service access to a diverse fleet of vehicles, including BMWs, MINI Coopers, gas/electric hybrids, SUVs and pickup trucks. All active Z2B drivers pay discounted hourly and daily rates that include insurance, gas, designated parking and maintenance, and have 24-hour per day access to more than 800 vehicles throughout nine states and 28 cities, including metro Washington DC, San Francisco, New York and Boston.

About the Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are Washington DC’s first major league baseball team in thirty-four years. A member of the National League East, the Nationals play eighty-one home games at RFK Stadium.

About Zipcar
Zipcar (www.zipcar.com) was founded in 1999. Since 2000, when Zipcars first hit the road, 45,000 consumers and business drivers ages 21+ have joined. Zipcar currently operates approximately 800 vehicles in nine states and 28 cities, including Boston, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, DC. Zipcar also has operations on or near over 20 university campuses. In July 2005, Zipcar secured $10 million in funding, led by Benchmark Capital, to begin aggressive expansion to become the country’s first national car sharing service. As part of this expansion, Zipcar recently launched West Coast operations, with plans to bring its service to additional major metropolitan areas in the near future.