Transportation in Berkeley, CA

“Bottom line: Zipcar saves me from having to own a car in a city where owning a car is expensive and inconvenient. It's funny. One of the reviewers, Bobby N. did an extremely nice--and accurate--job of listing what he considers the pros and cons. Yet the price that he considers super expensive, I consider super reasonable. Compared to all the costs and hassle associated with owning a car, from any payments, to gas, to registering, to parking (!!), to washing, to maintaining, Zipcar is a steal. I'm guessing Bobby N.'s needs (frequency, duration) are different than mine. I only need a car for a few hours a couple times a month. I also love the convenience of going to a spot very near my house, which happens to be very near a university campus. That said, I've taken Zipcar on trips out of town lasting several days and been very happy with the price I've paid compared to regular rentals. For me, the threshold is one week. At one week, a regular rental is the better deal. You have to keep in mind all the hidden fees with the regular rental, whereas Zipcar shines in TRANSPARENCY. You know exactly what your Zipcar rental costs, and you can cancel until just a few hours ahead. I love that FLEXIBILITY also. If you don't like being held accountable for rigid policies and rules, Zipcar is not* for you. Some people would rather lose a limb than commit to returning a car exactly on time or early. My solution--I'll just be honest--is to always book the car 30 minutes longer than I think I'll need it. That way I never have to sweat the $50 late fee. Has the experience been perfect? No. Cars are not always perfectly clean. I've had some trouble using the gas card at times. Of course, if the person before me is late or parks the car some weird place, as has happened once or twice, then, well, the car won't be where it's supposed to when it's supposed to. Customer service is fine, but they aren't magicians who can fix cars at a distance or move cars from one location to another out of thin air. Maybe don't use Zipcar for an important job interview. Obviously, Zipcar also isn't well suited when you don't know when you'll be finished doing whatever you are doing. You might be able to extend your reservation, but not if someone else reserves for right after you, and you have no way of controlling that. For casual tasks that aren't super time-sensitive, Zipcar is perfect. So much stress avoided! To me, Zipcar is a godsend. I use it for things like grocery shopping, medical appointments, going back and forth to storage. Great service! **Special little technical section regarding insurance. Even though I don't own a car, because I rent Zipcar, I maintain Medical Payments coverage on my auto insurance. That additional coverage provides me a certain dollar amount per person per accident for me and/or my passengers to get medical care if we need it due to an accident. It covers me no matter what car I'm driving or driven in by friends or family, whereas I would NOT be covered in rideshare. Unless you have really stunning medical insurance, I recommend this option with your auto insurance, and I recommend staying away from rideshare. Medical Payments coverage is not expensive, and it is also NOT available as an option through Zipcar itself. Then personally, I spring to pay the extra $75 or whatever per year with Zipcar for the damage waiver so I don't have to worry about covering costs associated with damaging the car in an accident. And of course I drive carefully.”

“I contacted the UC Berkeley Parking & Transportation Center today regarding parking in the Boalt lot. Despite a wait on the phone, Dani was exceptionally courteous. He apologized for the delay and provided thorough assistance with a friendly and understanding tone. His positive attitude truly made my day. Great service! <3”

“Bottom line: Zipcar saves me from having to own a car in a city where owning a car is expensive and inconvenient. It's funny. One of the reviewers, Bobby N. did an extremely nice--and accurate--job of listing what he considers the pros and cons. Yet the price that he considers super expensive, I consider super reasonable. Compared to all the costs and hassle associated with owning a car, from any payments, to gas, to registering, to parking (!!), to washing, to maintaining, Zipcar is a steal. I'm guessing Bobby N.'s needs (frequency, duration) are different than mine. I only need a car for a few hours a couple times a month. I also love the convenience of going to a spot very near my house, which happens to be very near a university campus. That said, I've taken Zipcar on trips out of town lasting several days and been very happy with the price I've paid compared to regular rentals. For me, the threshold is one week. At one week, a regular rental is the better deal. You have to keep in mind all the hidden fees with the regular rental, whereas Zipcar shines in TRANSPARENCY. You know exactly what your Zipcar rental costs, and you can cancel until just a few hours ahead. I love that FLEXIBILITY also. If you don't like being held accountable for rigid policies and rules, Zipcar is not* for you. Some people would rather lose a limb than commit to returning a car exactly on time or early. My solution--I'll just be honest--is to always book the car 30 minutes longer than I think I'll need it. That way I never have to sweat the $50 late fee. Has the experience been perfect? No. Cars are not always perfectly clean. I've had some trouble using the gas card at times. Of course, if the person before me is late or parks the car some weird place, as has happened once or twice, then, well, the car won't be where it's supposed to when it's supposed to. Customer service is fine, but they aren't magicians who can fix cars at a distance or move cars from one location to another out of thin air. Maybe don't use Zipcar for an important job interview. Obviously, Zipcar also isn't well suited when you don't know when you'll be finished doing whatever you are doing. You might be able to extend your reservation, but not if someone else reserves for right after you, and you have no way of controlling that. For casual tasks that aren't super time-sensitive, Zipcar is perfect. So much stress avoided! To me, Zipcar is a godsend. I use it for things like grocery shopping, medical appointments, going back and forth to storage. Great service! **Special little technical section regarding insurance. Even though I don't own a car, because I rent Zipcar, I maintain Medical Payments coverage on my auto insurance. That additional coverage provides me a certain dollar amount per person per accident for me and/or my passengers to get medical care if we need it due to an accident. It covers me no matter what car I'm driving or driven in by friends or family, whereas I would NOT be covered in rideshare. Unless you have really stunning medical insurance, I recommend this option with your auto insurance, and I recommend staying away from rideshare. Medical Payments coverage is not expensive, and it is also NOT available as an option through Zipcar itself. Then personally, I spring to pay the extra $75 or whatever per year with Zipcar for the damage waiver so I don't have to worry about covering costs associated with damaging the car in an accident. And of course I drive carefully.”

“Bottom line: Zipcar saves me from having to own a car in a city where owning a car is expensive and inconvenient. It's funny. One of the reviewers, Bobby N. did an extremely nice--and accurate--job of listing what he considers the pros and cons. Yet the price that he considers super expensive, I consider super reasonable. Compared to all the costs and hassle associated with owning a car, from any payments, to gas, to registering, to parking (!!), to washing, to maintaining, Zipcar is a steal. I'm guessing Bobby N.'s needs (frequency, duration) are different than mine. I only need a car for a few hours a couple times a month. I also love the convenience of going to a spot very near my house, which happens to be very near a university campus. That said, I've taken Zipcar on trips out of town lasting several days and been very happy with the price I've paid compared to regular rentals. For me, the threshold is one week. At one week, a regular rental is the better deal. You have to keep in mind all the hidden fees with the regular rental, whereas Zipcar shines in TRANSPARENCY. You know exactly what your Zipcar rental costs, and you can cancel until just a few hours ahead. I love that FLEXIBILITY also. If you don't like being held accountable for rigid policies and rules, Zipcar is not* for you. Some people would rather lose a limb than commit to returning a car exactly on time or early. My solution--I'll just be honest--is to always book the car 30 minutes longer than I think I'll need it. That way I never have to sweat the $50 late fee. Has the experience been perfect? No. Cars are not always perfectly clean. I've had some trouble using the gas card at times. Of course, if the person before me is late or parks the car some weird place, as has happened once or twice, then, well, the car won't be where it's supposed to when it's supposed to. Customer service is fine, but they aren't magicians who can fix cars at a distance or move cars from one location to another out of thin air. Maybe don't use Zipcar for an important job interview. Obviously, Zipcar also isn't well suited when you don't know when you'll be finished doing whatever you are doing. You might be able to extend your reservation, but not if someone else reserves for right after you, and you have no way of controlling that. For casual tasks that aren't super time-sensitive, Zipcar is perfect. So much stress avoided! To me, Zipcar is a godsend. I use it for things like grocery shopping, medical appointments, going back and forth to storage. Great service! **Special little technical section regarding insurance. Even though I don't own a car, because I rent Zipcar, I maintain Medical Payments coverage on my auto insurance. That additional coverage provides me a certain dollar amount per person per accident for me and/or my passengers to get medical care if we need it due to an accident. It covers me no matter what car I'm driving or driven in by friends or family, whereas I would NOT be covered in rideshare. Unless you have really stunning medical insurance, I recommend this option with your auto insurance, and I recommend staying away from rideshare. Medical Payments coverage is not expensive, and it is also NOT available as an option through Zipcar itself. Then personally, I spring to pay the extra $75 or whatever per year with Zipcar for the damage waiver so I don't have to worry about covering costs associated with damaging the car in an accident. And of course I drive carefully.”

“Bottom line: Zipcar saves me from having to own a car in a city where owning a car is expensive and inconvenient. It's funny. One of the reviewers, Bobby N. did an extremely nice--and accurate--job of listing what he considers the pros and cons. Yet the price that he considers super expensive, I consider super reasonable. Compared to all the costs and hassle associated with owning a car, from any payments, to gas, to registering, to parking (!!), to washing, to maintaining, Zipcar is a steal. I'm guessing Bobby N.'s needs (frequency, duration) are different than mine. I only need a car for a few hours a couple times a month. I also love the convenience of going to a spot very near my house, which happens to be very near a university campus.That said, I've taken Zipcar on trips out of town lasting several days and been very happy with the price I've paid compared to regular rentals. For me, the threshold is one week. At one week, a regular rental is the better deal. You have to keep in mind all the hidden fees with the regular rental, whereas Zipcar shines in TRANSPARENCY. You know exactly what your Zipcar rental costs, and you can cancel until just a few hours ahead. I love that FLEXIBILITY also.If you don't like being held accountable for rigid policies and rules, Zipcar is not* for you. Some people would rather lose a limb than commit to returning a car exactly on time or early. My solution--I'll just be honest--is to always book the car 30 minutes longer than I think I'll need it. That way I never have to sweat the $50 late fee. Has the experience been perfect? No. Cars are not always perfectly clean. I've had some trouble using the gas card at times. Of course, if the person before me is late or parks the car some weird place, as has happened once or twice, then, well, the car won't be where it's supposed to when it's supposed to. Customer service is fine, but they aren't magicians who can fix cars at a distance or move cars from one location to another out of thin air. Maybe don't use Zipcar for an important job interview.Obviously, Zipcar also isn't well suited when you don't know when you'll be finished doing whatever you are doing. You might be able to extend your reservation, but not if someone else reserves for right after you, and you have no way of controlling that. For casual tasks that aren't super time-sensitive, Zipcar is perfect. So much stress avoided!To me, Zipcar is a godsend. I use it for things like grocery shopping, medical appointments, going back and forth to storage. Great service!**Special little technical section regarding insurance. Even though I don't own a car, because I rent Zipcar, I maintain Medical Payments coverage on my auto insurance. That additional coverage provides me a certain dollar amount per person per accident for me and/or my passengers to get medical care if we need it due to an accident. It covers me no matter what car I'm driving or driven in by friends or family, whereas I would NOT be covered in rideshare. Unless you have really stunning medical insurance, I recommend this option with your auto insurance, and I recommend staying away from rideshare. Medical Payments coverage is not expensive, and it is also NOT available as an option through Zipcar itself.Then personally, I spring to pay the extra $75 or whatever per year with Zipcar for the damage waiver so I don't have to worry about covering costs associated with damaging the car in an accident. And of course I drive carefully.”

“Bottom line: Zipcar saves me from having to own a car in a city where owning a car is expensive and inconvenient. It's funny. One of the reviewers, Bobby N. did an extremely nice--and accurate--job of listing what he considers the pros and cons. Yet the price that he considers super expensive, I consider super reasonable. Compared to all the costs and hassle associated with owning a car, from any payments, to gas, to registering, to parking (!!), to washing, to maintaining, Zipcar is a steal. I'm guessing Bobby N.'s needs (frequency, duration) are different than mine. I only need a car for a few hours a couple times a month. I also love the convenience of going to a spot very near my house, which happens to be very near a university campus. That said, I've taken Zipcar on trips out of town lasting several days and been very happy with the price I've paid compared to regular rentals. For me, the threshold is one week. At one week, a regular rental is the better deal. You have to keep in mind all the hidden fees with the regular rental, whereas Zipcar shines in TRANSPARENCY. You know exactly what your Zipcar rental costs, and you can cancel until just a few hours ahead. I love that FLEXIBILITY also. If you don't like being held accountable for rigid policies and rules, Zipcar is not* for you. Some people would rather lose a limb than commit to returning a car exactly on time or early. My solution--I'll just be honest--is to always book the car 30 minutes longer than I think I'll need it. That way I never have to sweat the $50 late fee. Has the experience been perfect? No. Cars are not always perfectly clean. I've had some trouble using the gas card at times. Of course, if the person before me is late or parks the car some weird place, as has happened once or twice, then, well, the car won't be where it's supposed to when it's supposed to. Customer service is fine, but they aren't magicians who can fix cars at a distance or move cars from one location to another out of thin air. Maybe don't use Zipcar for an important job interview. Obviously, Zipcar also isn't well suited when you don't know when you'll be finished doing whatever you are doing. You might be able to extend your reservation, but not if someone else reserves for right after you, and you have no way of controlling that. For casual tasks that aren't super time-sensitive, Zipcar is perfect. So much stress avoided! To me, Zipcar is a godsend. I use it for things like grocery shopping, medical appointments, going back and forth to storage. Great service! **Special little technical section regarding insurance. Even though I don't own a car, because I rent Zipcar, I maintain Medical Payments coverage on my auto insurance. That additional coverage provides me a certain dollar amount per person per accident for me and/or my passengers to get medical care if we need it due to an accident. It covers me no matter what car I'm driving or driven in by friends or family, whereas I would NOT be covered in rideshare. Unless you have really stunning medical insurance, I recommend this option with your auto insurance, and I recommend staying away from rideshare. Medical Payments coverage is not expensive, and it is also NOT available as an option through Zipcar itself. Then personally, I spring to pay the extra $75 or whatever per year with Zipcar for the damage waiver so I don't have to worry about covering costs associated with damaging the car in an accident. And of course I drive carefully.”

“I had an excellent experience in my first time using zipcar. When I first registered it was 3 years ago, I hadn't never used it. Until recently, I was able to pickup my card in San Francisco staff was really nice and super helpful. I love how automated the process is. It's so simple & easy unlike car rental places. If you need to speak with staff over the phone they're great to talk to.. I would definitely refer friends and family to sign up with Zipcar. Great compamy!!!! You'll see more of me. I will gladly use Zipcar again. Thank you!!!!”

“Bottom line: Zipcar saves me from having to own a car in a city where owning a car is expensive and inconvenient. It's funny. One of the reviewers, Bobby N. did an extremely nice--and accurate--job of listing what he considers the pros and cons. Yet the price that he considers super expensive, I consider super reasonable. Compared to all the costs and hassle associated with owning a car, from any payments, to gas, to registering, to parking (!!), to washing, to maintaining, Zipcar is a steal. I'm guessing Bobby N.'s needs (frequency, duration) are different than mine. I only need a car for a few hours a couple times a month. I also love the convenience of going to a spot very near my house, which happens to be very near a university campus.That said, I've taken Zipcar on trips out of town lasting several days and been very happy with the price I've paid compared to regular rentals. For me, the threshold is one week. At one week, a regular rental is the better deal. You have to keep in mind all the hidden fees with the regular rental, whereas Zipcar shines in TRANSPARENCY. You know exactly what your Zipcar rental costs, and you can cancel until just a few hours ahead. I love that FLEXIBILITY also.If you don't like being held accountable for rigid policies and rules, Zipcar is not* for you. Some people would rather lose a limb than commit to returning a car exactly on time or early. My solution--I'll just be honest--is to always book the car 30 minutes longer than I think I'll need it. That way I never have to sweat the $50 late fee. Has the experience been perfect? No. Cars are not always perfectly clean. I've had some trouble using the gas card at times. Of course, if the person before me is late or parks the car some weird place, as has happened once or twice, then, well, the car won't be where it's supposed to when it's supposed to. Customer service is fine, but they aren't magicians who can fix cars at a distance or move cars from one location to another out of thin air. Maybe don't use Zipcar for an important job interview.Obviously, Zipcar also isn't well suited when you don't know when you'll be finished doing whatever you are doing. You might be able to extend your reservation, but not if someone else reserves for right after you, and you have no way of controlling that. For casual tasks that aren't super time-sensitive, Zipcar is perfect. So much stress avoided!To me, Zipcar is a godsend. I use it for things like grocery shopping, medical appointments, going back and forth to storage. Great service!**Special little technical section regarding insurance. Even though I don't own a car, because I rent Zipcar, I maintain Medical Payments coverage on my auto insurance. That additional coverage provides me a certain dollar amount per person per accident for me and/or my passengers to get medical care if we need it due to an accident. It covers me no matter what car I'm driving or driven in by friends or family, whereas I would NOT be covered in rideshare. Unless you have really stunning medical insurance, I recommend this option with your auto insurance, and I recommend staying away from rideshare. Medical Payments coverage is not expensive, and it is also NOT available as an option through Zipcar itself.Then personally, I spring to pay the extra $75 or whatever per year with Zipcar for the damage waiver so I don't have to worry about covering costs associated with damaging the car in an accident. And of course I drive carefully.”

“I've used Zipcar for 15+ years, and always find the cars clean & working well. Great customer service, too. I almost always get a live human within 30 seconds of calling, and they always solve my problems well, sometimes even when it's my own fault (e.g., helping me unlock the car after I've gone over the deadline and shouldn't have access anymore, so that even though there's a late fee, I can at least extend the reservation and drive home!) Got rid of my car because there were always several Zipcars closer to my house than I could ever park my own car!”