Zipcar and UNC have developed a partnership that gives the UNC-Chapel Hill community new levels of freedom and mobility, while decreasing the overall number of cars on campus. Zipcar offers cars by the hour or the day, located on campus, which you can reserve online or by phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Gas, maintenance, insurance and designated parking are all included. All UNC departments, individual staff and students 18 years of age or older may take advantage of Zipcar for business or personal trips.
Zipcar may be what your department needs to reduce transportation costs associated with state vehicles and service vehicle permits. Zipcar allows your department to pay for only the hours the vehicle is used - $5/hour – including gas. Having a departmental Zipcar account allows employees to conduct departmental business, even though they may not have a car on campus.
Sign up your Department so that staff can bill their work-related driving to a departmental account. As members, your staff can reserve cars online and use their Zipcard to access cars easily and drive hassle-free. The Department’s account is charged automatically and the account administrator can easily monitor driving activity and costs.
The cost to join Zipcar for staff or faculty is $20 and $35 for students per person per year. There is no setup charge for a departmental account. Simply reserve online, walk to a nearby parking location, let yourself in with a Zipcard, and drive away. Gas and insurance are included in the $5 hourly rate.
Four Convenient campus locations!
To get more information about departmental accounts, email UNC's Zipcar program administrator, She will put you in touch with Zipcar's UNC representative. You may also contact Zipcar directly by clicking here.
UNC Departmental Zipcar Policy
Purpose: The performance of departmental general errands can be accommodated through the use of the new Zipcar services. Departments who do not need, or wish to have, a state vehicle or utilize personal vehicles with the display of a service permit can register as a department for Zipcar.
Benefits: Reduction of the number of state vehicles and service permits on campus will help reduce on campus parking demand and provide departments with an alternative to leasing a state vehicle or utilizing personal vehicles, but still give them access to a vehicle on occasions when it is necessary to take care of departmental business.
Responsibilities: A vital part of the program is keeping records at the department so that a complete audit trail is always present regarding the utilization of the service. Zipcar will provide a monthly statement to each department detailing the days and hours of use, as well as the names of the authorized employees who used the vehicle for each reservation. The department will need to keep a Departmental Zipcar Checkout Sheet, which each authorized employee will have to fill out prior to reservation. Information on this sheet will include:
- Date of Use
- Time of Use
- Employee Name
- Purpose of Errand
The Zipcar monthly statement will need to be reconciled with the Dept. Zipcar Checkout Sheet at the end of each month to ensure that authorized employees are utilizing the service for departmental business.
Zipcar: The Zipcar company, with main offices located in Boston , MA will maintain direct billing and contact with each department registering for the use of Zipcar. Most information regarding Zipcar can be found on their website:
Registering for Zipcar: Each department will need to select which employee(s) will be registered for departmental use of Zipcar, including a Departmental Zipcar Administrator, who will be the departmental point of contact with Zipcar. The department’s Zipcar administrator will need to provide Zipcar with information, including the names and PIDs of each departmentally approved employee. Each individual employee will need to register on-line through their department. The department’s Zipcar administrator then approves each employees application on line through the Zipcar site. Employees must be licensed drivers 18 years of age or older to register for use of Zipcar.
Employees who wish to use the Zipcar service for personal trips may do so by registering for a personal account. Personal accounts will be billed separately from departmental accounts. Under no circumstances should personal use of a Zipcar be charged to a departmental account.
Obtaining a Zipcard: Each employee registered through a department will receive his/her own Zipcard, which will allow access to the vehicle.
Fee for Zipcar Use: There is an initial $20 fee for registration of each departmentally designated driver and that fee can be used as driving credit hours, if used within the first 30 days. Thereafter, the fee is $5/hour or a maximum $55 per day, including gas and mileage (up to 180 miles within a 24 hr period).
Making Reservations: Each employee registered through a department will be able to access the Zipcar website reservation page. When making a reservation, the employee will be asked to identify which Zipcar (by location) he or she wishes to reserve and to state whether the reservation is for departmental business or a personal trip (if they have a personal account set up). Reservations for personal trips must be made under the employee’s personal account number. Each time an employee makes a business reservation, he/she will need to enter it in the departmental Zipcar Checkout Sheet for reconciliation at the end of each month.
Picking up The Zipcar: Zipcards serve as the access key to a Zipcar. A Zipcard will not open a car door unless it has been activated with a reservation. The Zipcard is a proximity card that, when held up to the driver’s side front windshield unlocks the Zipcar allowing the Zipcar member access to the car keys which are attached to the steering wheel. At the end of the trip, the Zipcard must be used to lock the car.
Reconciliation: Each department will need to identify accounting staff to review the logs and reconcile as part of processing a Zipcar bill for payment. The bill reconciler will make sure that Zipcar bills are forwarded to the appropriate departmental accounting staff to process the payment to Zipcar monthly.
Zipcar’s on-line services will allow Departments to track use throughout the month. Each Department’s Zipcar administrator will have access to an on-line site that will show departmental use.
Users should not review and reconcile their own departmental Zipcar charges. If a department’s Zipcar reconciler is also a Zipcar user, someone else should review and reconcile charges for use by that individual.
There are 2 methods of payment for Zipcar use. Departments may choose either:
- Purchase card, using object code 3112 - all policies established for purchase card will apply
- Check request, based on Zipcar invoicing
Invoices for personal Zipcar accounts are the responsibility of the individual user. These invoices should not be submitted to the university for payment. Personal use of a Zipcar will not be reimbursed under any circumstances. You must have a personal credit card on file with Zipcar in order to set up a personal account, and this credit card will be billed for your personal use.
Disputed Use by Employee: Abuse of Zipcar privileges that result in a department being charged for personal use of Zipcar will be treated as misuse of State property and may result in either loss of Zipcar privileges or other disciplinary action including disciplinary action in accordance with the Human Resources Employee Manual.
Disputed Billing by Zipcar: Any questions regarding monthly Zipcar bills will be the sole responsibility of Zipcar and the department.
Employee Termination: Upon termination of an employee, the department must recover the employee’s Zipcar card and notify Zipcar that the employee is no longer eligible to use Zipcar under the departmental agreement.
Where to Get Help: Zipcar can be contacted directly for most questions regarding use of Zipcar and billing – (866)4ZIPCAR. On campus questions can be directed to the Transportation Demand Management and Marketing Specialist at the UNC Department of Public Safety – 962-3951.
