alonewiththemoon | zippity-do-dah

As my dance gigs are starting to range further afield and I am starting to feel worse and worse about scrounging for rides, I've been thinking more and more about joining ZipCar. While looking at their website today I found that there are two ZipCar spots with two cars each within a half mile of my house, so I think that clinches it. My biggest hesitation had been that we have a single car-width driveway and thus have to share keys with the neighbors, so I wouldn't really be able to park a ZipCar in the driveway (no overnight street parking in my town). But those drop off spots are close enough to walk home from, so I would be able to return the car immediately after using it any time of day or night.

I know some of you reading this use ZipCar--are there any negatives to the service? It seems awfully happy and shiny.

I would have to get some kind of GPS device thingy, if the cars don't come with them. So probably a new phone. This is going to be one of those money saving things that ends up costing money, isn't it...

Okay rehearsal at the Dance Complex last night. The people in the studio before me were rude and overstayed their time, even though they knew I was waiting. I should have just gone in and started stretching. So that was a little stressy, but I got work done. Unfortunately it was mostly work on music that I'm not actually performing to this weekend, but having fun should not be underrated as show preparation :-)
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Also check with benefits to see if Zipcar offers a BU discount, like they do here @ BC. Saves you on fees.

labellemargaux uses zipcar. She could fill you in on the pluses and minuses.

ooh, I didn't even think to click on that "universities" tab on the website--they do have a BU partnership! Cool.

That's cool! I didn't know that you knew how to drive.

Yep, I have a license and everything. I can't drive stick, but I drove in Chicago and Montreal when I lived in those places. I keep telling myself that if I drove in Montreal traffic then Boston traffic shouldn't scare me, but somehow it does. I think it's because while Montrealers are aggressive drivers they are also usually skilled drivers, whereas Bostonians are just crazy ;-)

Don't know about zipcar, but I do know about driving-phobia after not having done it for a while. I was very hesitant to get behind the wheel when I got back from the UK. I found it was just a phobia. It was fine once I got the hang of it again. I'm still determined to put off buying a car for a very long time until it's absolutely no choice but do it. (sorry about the bad grammar here!)

I keep telling myself that if all the great unwashed masses are out there driving, surely I can do it too...

The only downsides to Zipcar are the pain of walking to the parking spot. Other than that, it's sunshine and roses.

Seriously.

Where sunshine = insurance, and roses = gas, included.

The only downside I ever saw was that the deductible is $500 (for damage beyond normal wear & tear, so a ding isn't going to cost you). Do be sure to do a walkaround before getting in the car to make sure there isn't, like, a bashed-in door or a missing mirror -- and if there is, there's a handy number to call one in from your cell.

The only reason I don't have a membership now is that we haven't run into conflicts in sharing the car yet -- I imagine I'll probably get one later in the summer.

I know some people in nyc who do Zipcar all the time and they love it. If it is in walking distance sounds pretty golden to me. I thought the prices were a bit steep but then again I am cheap ;-P and maybe they are higher here? And, hey, if I can drive through Manhattan with the insane cab and limo drivers you can do Boston. I bet you'll actually enjoy it! I know I always like driving my car now that I no longer use it on a daily basis.

I have a Blackberry with gps and I am pretty satisfied with it. The Blackberry plans are kinda pricey tho and the gps option costs me an extra $10/mo. But it does come with traffic monitoring and alternate routes which would cost me the same monthly charge had I bought a regular gps unit. One thing about gps on cell phones is that they may work solely through the cell service or a combination of the satellites and the cell service.(i.e., most don't JUST use the satellites like a regular gps unit). That means if you lose or don't have cell coverage you could have issues. It hasn't caused me too many problems but I have run into some things. One time I lost cell coverage while it was trying to recalc a route and it just hung there until I got back in a coverage area. Luckily I was on the highway and knew I had ~20 miles to go before my exit, if I were is a sketchy area of the Bronx that could have been an issue. For the most part it loses the map and will just give you text and arrow direction (i.e., turn right in 0.2 miles, etc.). But if you are out of cell coverage and you want to plug in a route you are out of luck.

Also, make sure your phone supports voice directions and not just the visual map. Not all phones have this option and if you are driving alone you will need to have the voice directions otherwise you'll have to take your eyes off the road to keep looking at the map - no good. I am on the fence as to whether the cell phone option or the regular gps unit is better. They both have their good and bad points.

The phone I have right now makes phone calls and does text messaging, and that's it ;-) I think from all that I've read I will go with the regular GPS unit.

I was happy with Zipcar. The only reason we got a car was because we got the dog, and Zipcar require that pets be crated. Obviously having a loose weasel in the car would be a bad idea for everyone, so that will be a non-issue for you.

(Once in high school I was driving my pre-Trendy iguana to the vet and he got away from my friend, who was just holding him, and ran UNDER THE BRAKE PEDAL. Not recommended.)

My ex would let ferrets loose in the car because "it wasn't fair to cage them" when I was driving. One reason among many he is an ex...

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