I signed up for Zipcar last December to test it out, but didn’t start using it in earnest until April when I sold my car. In May Stephanie and I got our Vespas for getting around the city on a whim, but we rely on Zipcar for heavy errands, day trips, and weekend adventures.
Here are some things I learned after looking over my usage in 2007. On average I made two rentals a month. Average rental time was 18 hours. Average spent per month on Zipcar was $180! Given that I only started using Zipcar in earnest in April, I’m on track to spend over $2000/year on Zipcar. Yikes!
With my “occasional driving” plan, I pay $8.75/hour, capped at $65 per 24 hours. If I would commit to spending at least $50/month, which seems like a no brainer at this point, the hourly and daily rates drop 10%. I opted against that plan initially for fear that a month might go by where I didn’t use Zipcar. However, since selling my car, that hasn’t once been the case.
$2000 a year seems like a lot without any context. Luckily last year I made a spreadsheet estimating the cost of insurance, gas, maintenance, and tax on my car (which thankfully I’d already paid off). My monthly estimate was $250. So Zipcar at $180/month (and possibly $160 if I switch plans) represents at minimum a $70/month savings—not counting parking, which almost certainly would add $250-300/month.
So in real dollars, Zipcar is saving me money, worrying about things like insurance, gas, and maintenance for me, and offering one unquantifiable benefit: a wide selection of cars to choose from, depending on my needs or whims. This year I drove 10 different cars. Next year, who knows…
Stephanie and I came out of the apartment one Monday morning and discovered that our scooters had made friends with the other motorcycles on the block. They grow up so fast.
Shot in motion this afternoon along the Embarcadero—part of a Jose Cuervo advertising blitz run by Scooter Media. I’ll pass on the tequila, but where can I get one of those trailers? This would make “vespa camping” a total reality.
I think I may have found a solution to my pressing aesthetic dilemma: where to put a residential parking permit sticker on a Vespa?
It’s called an inspection plate—useful in states (unlike California) that require an annual inspection sticker displayed on your vehicle. Or in my case, a parking permit. There are several varieties and locations for mounting the plate on motorcycles, but I think this one looks the best on scooters:
I ordered it this morning from J&P Cycles for only $2.99—of course shipping and handling brought the total to just over $11 and they wouldn’t let me ship it to my work address, but whatever.
Will post photos when it arrives.
Update (September 10, 2007): Woo-hoo, it arrived, just as I expected. No more living in fear of the man. Immediately broke out the toolbox and installed it between the license plate mount and the license plate.
Good news is, the thing is diminutive. A half inch of the sticker is hiding under the plate—the self-obvious part that says “Motorcycle Parking Permit.” But it also meant I couldn’t use the license plate frame that Vespa SF so kindly put on my bike after having it serviced. Guess it’s time to order another accessory.
I signed up for Zipcar last December to test it out, but didn’t start using it in earnest until April when I sold my car. In May Stephanie and I got our Vespas for getting around the city on a whim, but we rely on Zipcar for heavy errands, day trips, and weekend adventures.
