Zipcar arrives in Tampa Bay

There’s a new way to get around Tampa Bay.

This week, community leaders gathered to celebrate the arrival of Boston-based Zipcar in downtown. The service lets registered users rent a car by the hour for short jaunts to the store or longer trips around the region.

Tampa Bay joins a growing list of Zipcar cities – a list that includes other up-and-coming hip, urban environments such as Pittsburgh, Denver, and Portland. As the home to the University of Tampa (the site of one Zipcar station), Tampa Bay also joins a number of prominent college towns on the Zipcar list.

Zipcar rentals start at $8.25 per hour with up to 180 miles per day included in the rental price. Zipcar covers the insurance and gas, but vets each driver at the time they register to use the service.

Along with the University of Tampa, local Zipcar stations in downtown include the Tampa Convention Center, the Channel District, and the Barrymore Hotel.

“The arrival of Zipcar marks an important addition to our transportation mix, particularly in downtown’s tourist-heavy convention district,” said Santiago Corrada, president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay. “Our visitors will enjoy the convenience of renting a Zipcar for a quick trip to Seminole Heights for dinner or for shopping in the West Shore Business District. We expect Zipcar to have great success here in Tampa Bay.”

Zipcar expands the growing number of options for getting around Tampa Bay – a list that now includes Coast Bike Share and the TECO Historic Streetcar.