Car2Go isn't really similar. It's better for spur of the moment and one way trips, whereas Zipcar ha

Jan 2 (Reuters) - Car rental company Avis Budget Group Inc will buy Zipcar Inc for about $500 million, surpassing larger rivals Hertz Global Holdings Inc and Enterprise Holdings Inc to become the No.1 player in the fast-growing U.S. car-sharing market.
"We see car sharing as highly complementary to traditional hertz rent car car rental, with rapid growth potential and representing a scalable opportunity for us as a combined company," Avis Chief Executive Ronald Nelson said.
Zipcar controls about 75 percent of the $400 million car-sharing industry in the United States. The total market is projected hertz rent car to reach $10 billion over the next several years, Nelson said on a conference call with analysts.
Zipcar, founded more than 10 years ago, pioneered car-sharing services in the United States. Car sharing allows customers to rent cars at an hourly or daily rate and park in convenient reserved spots. Zipcar went public in April 2011 and raised about $174 million.
The deal, expected to close in the spring of 2013, will add to Avis's earnings, excluding items, from the second year and is expected to generate hertz rent car between $50 million and $70 million in annual synergies.
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hertz rent car I've been a zipcar member from the start. I remember, in the early days of zipcar, having to go to Central Square, Cambridge, MA for an orientation. We sat around a table in a small office while the zipcar rep. ( birkenstock wearing ) talked to us about zipcar. hertz rent car We had to put down a security deposit and were issued our zipcards which gave us access to zipcars.
Before it got popular you really had no trouble getting a zipcar. Today that still holds true but it's a bit more challenging sometimes. Using a small funky Cambridge, MA car share company was always a good feeling knowing the ' big guys ' were not getting my cash. Zipcar is a huge reason why I have not owned a car since 1999.
The old zipcar hertz rent car as we know it is gone I'm afraid. The first few years of Avis-budget-zipcar hertz rent car will probably see little to no changes. That being said, once the bean counters and marketing gurus get a hold of it.........zipcar will be a shadow of its former self.
Car2Go isn't really similar. It's better for spur of the moment and one way trips, whereas Zipcar has to be round trip (for the moment) and can be reserved well in advance. They're complimentary rather than competing services in my opinion.
Glad to hear of your experience -- I've just given up my car and joined zipcar in Providence, not thrilled with the cost but it's a better hertz rent car option than replacing my car given how little I drive. I wouldn't mind if there would be more options that might bring the cost down (or not. . . .).
I haven't owned a car since 1991. Although the cost when using zipcar initially looks expensive, when you tally up the annual cost it's WAY cheaper. No excise tax, no gas to pay for, no insurance, no repairs, no inspection sticker, no maintenance costs, etc, etc. I agree though, with the AVIS takeover the costs can only go up. I'm hoping for another local car share start up.
Where I am (Providence) hertz rent car there isn't any other option, as far as I know -- and I've been looking. If someone else organizes a local coop, I'm in -- but I have better things to do than be the organizer, and lack the skill sets needed to have it work well. There's an upfront investment too.
Went public a year and a half ago with an IPO price of 18. Soared to 30 on the first day of trading. Made a steady downward trek to 8 by the end of 2012. Avis is paying a "premium" to acquire it at 12. So the folks who made money were the investment bankers who sold the stock on the first day of trading as well as the investment bankers who sold it on the last day of trading. Who got hosed were the people who bought the Zipcar hype and stock.