For the car-less who have cargo, the folks at Zipcar have brought 10 Zipvans to the Seattle area this week. Those will be added to 300 existing Zipcars, including 11 pickups, that already are in dense neighborhoods of Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond and Tacoma.
Caterers, florists and musicians are examples of customers who are expected to rent the Ford E-150 Zipvans, which have two seats in front and 230 cubic feet of space in the rear, and are available 24 hours a day, said Carla Archambault, general manager for the Seattle area.
Usage rates start at $15.75 per hour (including 180 miles’ travel and gas) for Zipcar members, compared to U-Haul, which rents vans locally at $19.95 a day plus 79 cents per mile.
Publicly-traded Zipcar is a membership business, costing $25 to enroll plus a $60 annual fee. The Zipvans are based on a successful niche in London, and are now spreading through the U.S., she said. The 10 here are parked at:
- 6th Avenue and Wall Street, Seattle
- 6th Avenue and Wall Street, Seattle
- 614 Maynard St, Seattle
- 15th Ave E and E Thomas St, Seattle
- Pike St and Boylston Ave, Seattle
- Brooklyn Avenue NE and 47th St, Seattle
- 4450 1st Ave NE, Seattle
- 958 Harrison Street, Seattle
- 400 Fairview Ave North, Seattle
- 10890 NE 8th St, Bellevue