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Zipcar Doubles Toronto's Car Sharing
Population
Celebrates milestone with 'Future of City Living' survey:
50% say gas prices will double
Toronto, Ontario (June 20, 2007) —
Zipcar, Canada's fastest growing car sharing service, today announced
that after only one year of operations in Toronto, it has attracted more
than 4,000 members.
During its first year, Zipcar placed more than 20 different makes and
models of vehicles in 80 locations throughout Toronto. To ensure that
it meets demand going forward, Zipcar Toronto is doubling the number of
vehicles in high demand neighbourhoods like Liberty Village and the downtown
core, while adding BMWs, Mustang convertibles and MINI Cooper convertibles
to further enhance this convenient and fun alternative to car ownership.
"When Zipcar launched its first cars in the year 2000, the iPod had
not yet been introduced and MySpace was still just an idea. With new innovations,
our lifestyles can change very quickly," says Scott Griffith, CEO
of Zipcar and guest presenter at ideaCity 2007. "Urban populations
continue to grow, and with a renewed focus on sustainable living, it's
clear that city residents will consider significant changes to grow our
urban areas smartly."
Griffith will be speaking at ideaCity on Friday, June 22 in the Health
and Wellness session. His presentation will focus on the challenges that
the world's largest cities will face to support a growing urban
population and their lifestyle needs.
"Toronto will add more than two million residents to its metropolitan
area during the next 15 years," says Griffith. "This growth
will greatly impact the urban lifestyle for future Toronto residents as
the city's infrastructure is further challenged and demand for common
resources such as parking increases."
To learn how Torontonians think city living will change during the next
seven years, Zipcar surveyed its members. Key findings include:
- 50% say they expect the price of gasoline to double.
- 45% of respondents believe it will take them 20+ minutes to find a
parking space in the city, compared to 5% that say it takes them that
long today.
- Nearly 40% said the least attractive part of Toronto city life is
"traffic congestion," second only to "cost of living."
- Nearly 40% of respondents named "congestion charge" as the policy
change that would most improve urban life.
With hundreds of new members joining Zipcar Toronto each month, car sharing
is now firmly ensconced in the city's mainstream and continues to
grow steadily. More than 40% of Zipcar members report getting rid of a car
or deciding not to purchase one after using the service. In addition, members
also report driving less and choosing to walk, bike and use public transportation
more often, resulting in significantly less pollutants going into the local
atmosphere.
About Zipcar
Zipcar is the world's largest and fastest growing car sharing service, with
more than 100,000 members and 3,000 vehicles in major metropolitan areas
and colleges campuses, including Toronto, Vancouver, Boston, New York, Chicago,
San Francisco, Washington, DC and London, England. As a leading urban lifestyle
brand, Zipcar provides a convenient and cost effective transportation alternative
for individuals, businesses and universities in 23 cities throughout North
America and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit http://www.zipcar.com.
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