But they have to buy a whole car just to fill that tiny need. Zipcar, which opened this spring, is the first car-sharing service in Massachusetts. Members get cards or keys to get into the cars, which are parked at a designated spot. Reservations can be made online or over the phone, and the only rule is to get the car back on time. If the car is already booked, members either have to take an alternate car, or wait until the car they usually drive is available.
Members can fill the gas tank with a company credit card.
That can get pricey for people who drive long distances, or take the car for an overnight trip, Chase said. But for people who just need to go to the grocery store, a doctor's appointment or visit a friend out of town, car sharing may be cheaper than renting a car. The idea of car sharing was spawned in Switzerland in 1987, when Mobility Car Sharing put its first car on the road in the traffic-congested city of Lucerne. The company now has 1,300 cars at 800 locations around Switzerland, and serves more than 33,000 customers, according to the company's Web site. The Swiss company's success was duplicated in big cities in Austria, France, Sweden and Germany, and the idea spread overseas to Canada in 1995.