Mississippi State University Student Association, Campus Operations and Department of Transportation have collaborated to bring Zipcar, a car sharing service, to campus. Four zipcars — located outside the Union, Griffis Hall and South Hall — are available to any student, faculty or staff 18 years or older for personal use.
Members of Zipcar pay a rate of $8 per hour or $66 per day to use one of the cars, with slightly higher rates on weekends.  To become a member, one must fill out an application online and pay a $25 start up fee. Applicants need to have had a valid driver’s license from any country for at least a year and have a good driving record. Members reserve a car through the Zipcar website from a minimum of an hour up to four days.  During a reservation, zipcars can be taken anywhere in the U.S. or Canada with 180 miles included per day and additional costs for overage.
To drive a Zipcar, members are mailed a card which unlocks the vehicle where the keys are kept inside. Users with iPhones or Androids can unlock the doors using their phones as well as locate, reserve, extend or cancel reservations and even honk the horn. Those without smart phones can sign up for text message alerts to remind them of a reservation and extend their reservation if the car is available. A late fee will be charged if the Zipcar is not returned on time. 
Zipcar members cannot smoke in the vehicle, have pets outside of carriers or let someone who is not a member drive. Drivers do not pay for gas but are responsible for filling the gas tank using the gas card located in the car if it is below a quarter full. Membership includes insurance but some damages could result in a damage fee if additional insurance coverage is not purchased.
Zipcar was launched at MSU on Aug. 24 after more than a year of planning. Rhett Hobart, SA president, said the idea of implementing a car-sharing program at MSU was proposed to campus operations by former SA President Thomas Sellers over a year ago. Hobart continued with the process once elected and served on a committee of different campus divisions to find the best service for students. 
“What’s interesting is actually MSU doesn’t pay anything for the program; it’s free for us to run. We just give a space for (the Zipcars) to park on campus, so we wanted to make sure we were finding something that was going to be beneficial to campus and that wasn’t going to have any significant investment on Mississippi State’s behalf,” Hobart said.  
Everett Kennard, manager of MSU transportation, was a part of the committee that decided Zipcar was right for campus. He said a factor that contributed to the decision was Zipcar accepted international drivers’ licenses.
“There are a lot of internationals on this campus, and they are a very important part of our student body,” Kennard said, “If you are in this country and you have no transportation you have a tough time.”
“We saw this as an opportunity for them, even if they just want to run across to Walmart. Three or four of them can get to together to go to Walmart for two hours and pay very little money,” Kennard said.
Hobart said there are many students living in residence halls who do not have cars on campus who could use this service as well. Zipcar is also a reliable source if a situation occurred and a student could not use his or her own car. He said student response so far has been good.
“It’s starting to get a buzz now. People are talking about it,” said Hobart. “We’re a little ahead of schedule … as far as our usage and our registered members, so I think our students are really enjoying the program.”
Darion Evans, sophomore information technology services major, has taken two trips already in a Zipcar. Evans is a Mississippi native but does not have a car on campus. He said living without a car was very annoying, but with Zipcar, it is not a problem.
“Zipcar is awesome!” said Evans.
Kennard said last week there were 45 registered Zipcar members, including four faculty and staff. Zipcar monitors the usage of its cars and sends reports to MSU. The amount of cars can be adjusted if more or less is needed. Although MSU has not set goals for Zipcar, he said he hopes it can help with parking problems on campus. The national average is that one Zipcar will take 15 to 20 cars off the road, so it might encourage some students not to bring a car to campus. He said it is a valuable service MSU can provide for its students while achieving a goal of reducing campus emissions.