CHICAGO, June 11, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zipcar has expanded availability of its car sharing offering: a smart, affordable, and convenient alternative to car ownership, to residents, students, businesses and visitors of multiple surrounding communities of Chicago. With today's addition of a Ford Focus Sedan named "Windycity" and a Mazda 3 named "Malawi" in Highland Park, Zipcar is now available in more than a dozen suburbs of Chicago, offering a wide variety of vehicles available by the hour or the day, with gas, insurance and 180 free miles per day.
Zipcar's service in Chicagoland now stretches all the way north to Waukegan, as far south as South Shore and to the west in Oak Park, and O'Hare and Midway airports including the following suburbs: Deerfield, Waukegan, Great Lakes (North Chicago), Lake Forest, Skokie, Oak Park, Forest Park, Rosemont, Wheaton, Naperville Highland Park, Evanston, and Prairie Crossing. With more than 700 Zipcars throughout the Chicago metropolitan area and several locations along Metra and CTA lines, Zipcar members in the Chicago can now 'think beyond city limits.'
"Zipcar's gradual expansion into the suburbs over the past year is part of our 'build from the inside out' approach to growing markets, which allows us to better develop our car sharing offering by drawing from our strong membership in cities and bringing it to connected suburban communities," said Charles Stephens, general manager of Zipcar Chicago. "These additional locations mean that members in these neighborhoods will now have access to 'wheels when they want them' as a convenient alternative or supplement to car ownership."
The Zipcar vehicles, which are parked in reserved parking spots, can be reserved by members via the Zipcar smartphone app for Android and iPhone, online at www.zipcar.com , or over the phone. Rates in Chicago start as low as $8.50 per hour and $74 per day (24 hours) and include gas, insurance and 180 free miles per day. An added benefit of Lake Forest beach access is also included in the two Zipcars located at the Lake Forest Metra Station. More information and membership rates are available at www.zipcar.com/chiburbs .
Employees of local businesses throughout Chicagoland will benefit from Zipcar's presence through the Zipcar for Business program that offers discounted driving rates Monday through Friday. This program helps business members save money, meet environmental sustainability goals and reduce parking requirements by providing their employees with access to Zipcars for business needs and other uses.
Zipcar's car sharing network, the largest available in Chicago, is a key part of integrated mobility services in hundreds of cities and towns around the world. Zipcar's model of car sharing is a proven way to reduce parking demand, traffic congestion and overall emissions while also encouraging increased public transit ridership, walking and biking, which helps to make our cities better places to live.
About Zipcar
Zipcar, the world's leading car sharing network, has operations in urban areas and college campuses throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain and Austria. Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models of self-service vehicles by the hour or day to residents and businesses looking for smart, simple and convenient solutions to their urban and campus transportation needs. Zipcar is a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: CAR ), a global leader in vehicle rental services. More information is available at www.zipcar.com .
CONTACT: Media Contact: CJ Himberg, Public Relations Specialist 617.336.4537 chimberg@zipcar.com
