RightRides Rides Again Thanks to Zipcar

North America's Largest Car Sharing Service Dedicates Vehicles Enabling Popular New York Late Night Ride Home Service to Resume and Expand Operations

NEW YORK, NY (June 6, 2006) — RightRides, a vital service that promotes safety by providing free, late night rides home to women and the LBT community throughout New York City, is back and bigger than ever after a six-month hiatus. RightRides and Zipcar, North America's largest car sharing service and premier car sharing experience, today jointly announced that, beginning on June 10th, Zipcar will dedicate Zipcars each Saturday night so that qualified RightRides driving team volunteers can pick up and drop off riders in 18 New York City neighborhoods. By teaming up with Zipcar, RightRides will resume service within Greenpoint, Williamsburg, the East Village and the Lower East Side, with plans to expand to additional areas that have seen an increase in sexual assault according to NYPD, or that have limited access to safe, late night public transportation.

The announcement was made during a press conference today on the steps of New York City Hall. In addition to leaders from RightRides and Zipcar, Sonia Ossorio, president of the New York Chapter of the National Organization for Women, and Christine Quinn, Speaker of the New York City Council, also participated and spoke in support of this program that protects the rights and personal safety of New York residents.

According to Oraia Reid, co-founder and executive director of RightRides, Zipcar's dedication to RightRides was key to making the service part of New York City landscape once again. "RightRides has seen a growing demand for its service in several high-risk and lower-income neighborhoods where there is limited public transportation available," she said. "Joining forces with Zipcar will allow us to provide our service to those in need and, hopefully, will help to reduce the risk of sexual assault throughout New York City."

RightRides commenced operations in September 2004 in direct response to assaults on women walking home by themselves in Brooklyn. Despite serving hundreds of riders in just over a year, the service ceased operations in late 2005 due to a lack of available volunteers owning cars. The partnership with Zipcar enables RightRides to resume operations and expand its service into more neighborhoods. The expanded fleet will mean more safe rides for local residents.

"Zipcar is committed to improving urban life for all local residents and we are proud to support RightRides' innovative and vital mission. Their program shares our goal of creating a better and safer environment for people who live and work in Metro New York," said Julian Espiritu, regional vice president for Zipcar. "We always welcome these opportunities to put our cars in service of philanthropic endeavors."

About Zipcar
With more than 55,000 consumer and business drivers, Zipcar is North America's largest car sharing service. The company currently operates 1,500 vehicles in 11 states and provinces, including metropolitan New York, Boston, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Toronto and Washington, DC. With Zipcar's technology, accessing and using a Zipcar is as easy as getting cash from an ATM. In minutes or up to a year in advance, members can reserve Zipcars online or by phone, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Zipcar members have automated access to Zipcars using a "Zipcard" to simply unlock the door and drive away. With Zipcar, gas, parking and insurance are always included. For more information, visit www.zipcar.com.

About RightRides
RightRides was founded in August 2004 in direct response to assaults on women walking home alone late at night in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, two North Brooklyn neighborhoods. The founders Consuelo Ruybal and Oraia Reid owned a car and believed that by offering free late night ride home, the risk of sexual assault would decrease. In 2004 and 2005, the program drove over 200 riders home safely in Williamsburg, Greenpoint and the Lower East Side and East Village neighborhoods in Manhattan. A temporary break in late 2005 allowed RightRides to focus efforts on securing a fleet of cars for qualified driving volunteers. During this time, the organization also received 501c3 status. RightRides hopes to drive more than 600 riders safely home within a year, in 18 NYC neighborhoods. For more information, visit www.rightrides.org.