Tuesday, August 26, 2008

WPI adds Zipcars to incoming class

By Mass High Tech Staff

Worcester Polytechnic Institute reports its campus will be home to two vehicles from Zipcar Inc.

Under the deal, two 2008 Honda Civic Hybrids will be available at the campus quadrangle for students and faculty to rent by the hour, according to WPI. The cars are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The cars will be available to all staff and students over the age of 18, with gas, maintenance, insurance, and reserved parking included in hourly and daily rates. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

One of the reasons for the move was to encourage students to leave their own cars at home during the school year, WPI said. In a related move, WPI said it will also reserve parking spots for hybrid vehicles.

Later this month, WPI said it plans to open a LEED-certified dormitory, with features including a green roof. Last year, WPI’s board of trustees approved a policy calling for all future campus construction to be LEED-certified. In 2006, the school built its first LEED-certified building, the Bartlett Center, home to its admissions and financial aid offices.

Last year, WPI established the President’s Task Force on Sustainability in order to encourage the inclusion of environmentally friendly practices into the university’s academic, research and administrative endeavors.

WPI was founded in 1865 and offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology and management. The school specializes in biotechnology, fuel cells, nanotechnology and information security. WPI enrolls 3,800 undergraduate and graduate students and reports an endowment of $327 million.

Cambridge-based Zipcar was founded by Robin Chase in 2000. Chase, who stepped down as Zipcar’s CEO in 2003, has since launched GoLoco Inc., which operates a social networking website for car-poolers.