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Zipadeedoodah
TTC news has calmed down considerably but we’re still placing bets on what’s on the next episode of TTC: The Saga Continues. If you’re interested in an alternative, you might want to look into car sharing. Yes, AutoShare has established its name in the city but there’s a new competitor: Zipcar. Zipcar has recently opened for business here after having already established locations in 6 cities in the US of A.
For a split second, I was entirely perplexed, being unsure who their target market could possibly be. Their “catchy” lingo says it all:
“Zipster n. (slang) a: Someone who rejects the established car owning culture; advocates extreme savings. b: One who is exceptionally aware of the latest trends and tastes; lounges in Zipgear. [syn: Zippie, Zipper, Zip-child]”
and used in a sentence….
“Flashing her Zipcard, the Zipster was escorted past the line of would-be diners to a choice table where an icy tray of fresh oysters awaited.”
What a way to make carsharing sound FUN! and HIP! and TRENDY! The remainder of the “Zipster” and “Zipcard” and “Ziptrip” references (boy oh boy, what a marketing scheme) are equally overwhelming.
The big question is this: how does the new, hip, American Zipcar compare to the lowkey, Toronto-based AutoShare? Well, Zipcar has the “Zip N’ Save Cash” plan and the “Pay As You Zip” plan and they tell us that “zipping is more fun in groups.” All we know right now is that there it says “Zip” at least 1001 times on the Zipcar website whereas AutoShare provides us with a less ridiculous interweb page. Check out the websites for rates and info but we’d choose AutoShare to support our local economy.