CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Zipcar, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZIP), the world's leading car sharing network, today announced the company's expansion into the city of San Jose, CA. The new Zipcar program will provide San Jose residents, visitors and businesses with increased access to affordable, convenient transportation options that reduce congestion and emissions.

The Zipcar program will launch with 12 vehicles located in pods of two, in six locations throughout San Jose. All of the vehicles will be located in private, off-street lots within the downtown footprint and will be easily accessible by the VTA Light Rail and public transit. Pods will be located near City Hall at East Santa Clara Street and North 4th Street and on South Market Street at West San Carlos Street, amongst others, for drivers ages 21 and up. Zipcar is also placing a pod of two Ford Focus vehicles near San Jose State University at 4th Street and Passeo de San Antonio, which will be available to student drivers ages 18 and older.

"We're thrilled to begin offering Zipcar vehicles in San Jose to provide more convenient and flexible access to our service for both new and existing members in this market," said Michael Uribe, general manager, Zipcar San Francisco. "As with all of our members, our San Jose Zipsters have access to our entire fleet of over 8,900 Zipcar vehicles located throughout the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom, delivering on our brand promise of 'wheels when you want them' whether they're home or visiting one of our other Zipcar markets."

The Zipcar program in San Jose is available to local residents and visitors, as well as to employees of local businesses through the company's "Zipcar for Business" program that offers discounted driving Monday through Friday. Zipcar for Business helps businesses save money, meet environmental sustainability goals and reduce parking requirements by providing their employees with access to Zipcars for business needs and other uses.

"Here at NextSpace, we pride ourselves on providing the space, community, and tools our members need to run their business at an accelerated speed. One of the tools we provide is a free Zipcar account for our members, as well as driving discounts on reservations during normal business hours through the company's Zipcar for Business program. Zipcar is another collaborative consumption company doing a great job of helping to keep costs down for the people making things happen in the world, and we're thrilled to be able to utilize their offering for our San Jose office," said Rebecca Brian, community curator and co-founder, NextSpace.

As an environmentally friendly transportation option, Zipcar will help to reduce San Jose's carbon footprint. National studies have shown that each car shared takes 15 privately owned vehicles off the road, and that average vehicle miles traveled per driver is reduced by 40 percent when car owners switch to car sharing.

Gas, reserved parking spots, insurance, roadside assistance and up to 180 miles per day are included in the hourly and daily Zipcar rates. Cars can be reserved for time periods as short as an hour or for several days. For more information, including how to become a Zipcar member in San Jose, please visit www.zipcar.com.

About Zipcar

Zipcar is the world's leading car sharing network with approximately 673,000 members and 8,900 vehicles in urban areas and college campuses throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Spain. Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models of self-service vehicles by the hour or day to residents and businesses looking for an alternative to the high costs and hassles of owning a car. More information is available at www.zipcar.com.

Photos and b-roll footage are also available for media purposes.

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SOURCE Zipcar, Inc.

For further information: Colleen McCormick, Zipcar - Public Relations, +1-617-336-4342, [email protected]