By By Cara Gargano

Constantly paying for cabs and trains, not to mention harassing friends for rides can become tedious. Well, now some universities are trying to make it easier for students to acquire easy and cheap access to cars.

Zipcar is a 5-year-old car service that allows students on different campuses to rent out vehicles either by the hour or by the day.

This program enables students to have a car whenever they want. Whether it is to run errands, go home for the weekend or just to get off campus for a while. The best part is students don’t have to worry about maintaining a car of their own.

This program is most helpful to students who dorm and do not have their own cars on campus.

“I think car renting is a good idea for Hofstra Students,” Ashley Jones, a carless senior broadcast journalism major, said. “Especially for those who don’t have cars on campus because sometimes you have to run a quick errand and get somewhere fast but have no way to do it.”

If a university is affiliated with Zipcar, the students do not have to pay the standard $175 in fees but only $25 to join the service. After paying this, cars cost as low as $8.50 an hour and the average cars are Honda Civics and Volkswagen Jettas. Yet, if a student wanted a four-wheel-drive vehicle it would only be $1 more an hour. If they wanted to rent the car for the day it would only cost $60. If you join through a college or university students will receive discounts at any Zipcar location.

The Zipcar headquarters are stationed in Cambridge, Mass., but many East-Coast schools are taking advantage of their services. A few campuses that are jumping on the Zipcar Bandwagon are Tufts, Howard, Rutgers, Harvard, American, M.I.T., Columbia, Princeton and George Mason University. In all there are approximately 19 schools that have taken advantage of the Zipcar program.

Now the real question is, would Zipcar be a success at the University?

“President Rabinowitz’s administration welcomes all suggestions, and we look into all student ideas to see if they are feasible for Hofstra,” Melissa Connolly, vice president of University public relations, said.

According to the Zipcar Web site, the program helps reduce demand for on campus parking. Also, one Zipcar takes approximately seven to 10 cars off the road. These statistics are something for the University to consider since parking is an issue here on campus.

Reservations can be made online or through Zipcar’s automated system. If students know they will need a car for a specific date, they can even book the reservation months in advance.

Renters of Zipcars must be 21 or older, but schools can buy additional insurance through a third party to insure drivers ages 18-20. All who rent the cars must have a valid driver’s license of at least a year and consent to a driving check.

If any complications arise, the student does not have permission to rent the car. The company estimates more than 20 percent of its users come from colleges.

However, the schools that sign up to have Zipcar must provide parking spots and basic maintenance such as cleaning, whereas Zipcar will handle all the insurance.

There is now an easy and fast way to have access to a car for a cheap cost. Sound like a dream come true? Those that have been Zipcar customers say they are a reliable and good company to use.

Students at George Washington University have called Zipcar at 3:30 a.m. to rent a car and are assisted, no questions asked. Zipcars is a 24-hour car service.

“I would not use the service because I have a car, but I think it would be a good idea for those who don’t because it’s pretty cheap,” John Ludington, a senior marketing major, said.

Zipcar presents a good deal to its customers because they will pay for gas and come to your school to shovel out the cars during snowstorms.

“I think having Zipcar on campus would be a great idea because students from farther away could rent the cars and drive to do what they needed to do,” Ty Puitz, a junior accounting major, said.

The majority of students felt Zipcar would be a fast, easy and cheap way to allow freedom for other students who don’t already own a car.

However, there were a few students who felt having Zipcar on campus would be pointless.

“No one would do it,” said junior Allison DiBenedetto, a marketing major. “It would be too much work and a waste of money for the school.”

Whether the Zipcar program would actually work here at the University is not evident and requires research. But the program does offer an alternative to the parking problems the University is facing.