AMTRAK and ZIPCAR locations

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Ok..so I thought...what if I wanted to drive most of the way down to Florida..but didn't want to do the whole drive.

Amtrak and many other metro systems deal with people that don't own cars.

NYC is a weird situation. You have so much public transportation that the need to ever rent a car is maybe once a year. But if I knew I could get to other places and have the option to move more freely..I would probably use zip car or other rental services more frequently as an option.

I would love to take Amtrak from NYC to Vermont..but once you get to these places..you have no way of branching out and their taxi services are extremely expensive and service is limited in these areas. National rental car is closed long before the daily train even arrives from NYC in most Vermont train stops. This is where zip car would be most helpful.

What if zip cars strategically placed more zip cars around train stations. Wouldn't they get more business?
 
As long as there are some other markets that can also use Zipcar in an area near an Amtrak station, it seems like a perfect fit. I did a little research into the accessibility of Zipcars from Amtrak stations, and found that as of right now, there's still some pretty good coverage, with cars located within 2 blocks of a number of Amtrak stations in places like Durham NH and Naperville IL among others, and cars located a short bus, train, or cab ride away in others. I think I posted the list at another forum, but I'll try to find it and copy and paste it here.

EDIT* Here's a copy and paste of a list I tallied up a few months back:

Here's a list of Amtrak Stations that host Zipcars on or adjacent to the premises:

Durham, NH

Emeryville, CA

Metropark, NJ

Princeton Jct, NJ

Philadelphia 30 St, PA

Rockville, MD

Washington, DC

Stations where Zipcars are no more than a 10-15 minute walk (about 4 blocks) from the Station:

Ann Arbor, MI (4 blocks)

Alexandria, VA (2 blocks)

Boston, MA (1 block)

Chicago, IL (1 block)

Naperville, IL (2 blocks)

New York Penn, NY (1 block)

Oakland Jack London, CA (3 blocks)

Portland, OR (1 block)

Pittsburgh, PA (4 blocks)

Seattle, WA (1 block)

Toronto, ON (2 blocks)

Stations where Zipcars are a short transit or cab ride away:

Atlanta, GA (appx. 8 blocks)

Baltimore, MD (appx. 14 blocks)

Champaign-Urbana, IL (appx. 8 blocks)

Charlottesville, VA (appx. 10 blocks)

Chico, CA (appx. 6 blocks)

Davis, CA (appx 12 blocks)

New Haven, CT (appx. 6 blocks)

Rochester, NY (appx. 8 blocks)

Vancouver, BC (appx. 8 blocks)

There are a few other host towns where Zipcars are rather readily reachable, but may be pushing their usefulness to the arriving Amtrak Passenger. Albuquerque, San Jose, Santa Barbara, Syracuse, Worcester, Tuscaloosa, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and San Luis Obispo are among these. Still other spots would qualify as useful only for the most seasoned of adventurer, such as Chapel Hill, NC, Hartford, CT, and San Diego, CA.
 
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I know you are not planning on coming anywhere near Chicago Guest_blewvelvet,

But there are 3 Zip Cars in the Amtrak parking lot in Chicago. I often walk past them on the way to the Clinton Avenue Blue Line! :eek:
 
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Also, Amtrak has a deal with Hertz where you can take a taxi from the Amtrak station to the local airport, rent a car, and the cab fare is deducted from your rental fee. This helps when the train arrives at an odd time, since airport car rental desks usually have longer hours, though your total cost is usually inflated by airport fees. Hertz actually has a desk in the St. Paul station, but it's not open when the westbound Empire Builder arrives.
 
As long as there are some other markets that can also use Zipcar in an area near an Amtrak station, it seems like a perfect fit. I did a little research into the accessibility of Zipcars from Amtrak stations, and found that as of right now, there's still some pretty good coverage, with cars located within 2 blocks of a number of Amtrak stations in places like Durham NH and Naperville IL among others, and cars located a short bus, train, or cab ride away in others. I think I posted the list at another forum, but I'll try to find it and copy and paste it here.
EDIT* Here's a copy and paste of a list I tallied up a few months back:

Here's a list of Amtrak Stations that host Zipcars on or adjacent to the premises:

Durham, NH

Emeryville, CA

Metropark, NJ

Princeton Jct, NJ

Philadelphia 30 St, PA

Rockville, MD

Washington, DC

Stations where Zipcars are no more than a 10-15 minute walk (about 4 blocks) from the Station:

Ann Arbor, MI (4 blocks)

Alexandria, VA (2 blocks)

Boston, MA (1 block)

Chicago, IL (1 block)

Naperville, IL (2 blocks)

New York Penn, NY (1 block)

Oakland Jack London, CA (3 blocks)

Portland, OR (1 block)

Pittsburgh, PA (4 blocks)

Seattle, WA (1 block)

Toronto, ON (2 blocks)

Stations where Zipcars are a short transit or cab ride away:

Atlanta, GA (appx. 8 blocks)

Baltimore, MD (appx. 14 blocks)

Champaign-Urbana, IL (appx. 8 blocks)

Charlottesville, VA (appx. 10 blocks)

Chico, CA (appx. 6 blocks)

Davis, CA (appx 12 blocks)

New Haven, CT (appx. 6 blocks)

Rochester, NY (appx. 8 blocks)

Vancouver, BC (appx. 8 blocks)

There are a few other host towns where Zipcars are rather readily reachable, but may be pushing their usefulness to the arriving Amtrak Passenger. Albuquerque, San Jose, Santa Barbara, Syracuse, Worcester, Tuscaloosa, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and San Luis Obispo are among these. Still other spots would qualify as useful only for the most seasoned of adventurer, such as Chapel Hill, NC, Hartford, CT, and San Diego, CA.
And please add Providence, RI to that list. There are a bunch of zipcars right on the Brown campus, about a 15 minute walk from the train station, albeit straight up a very steep hill. It would be less than a 5 minute cab ride to the zipcars.
 
Baltimore will be going onto the high list in a week or so when two spots on St. Paul Street at Penn Station open for business with Zipcar as the program goes more city-wide. Other new nearby spots will be available with a short bus ride on the new free Charm City Circulator bus, as well as MTA.
 
Ok..so I thought...what if I wanted to drive most of the way down to Florida..but didn't want to do the whole drive.

Amtrak and many other metro systems deal with people that don't own cars.

NYC is a weird situation. You have so much public transportation that the need to ever rent a car is maybe once a year. But if I knew I could get to other places and have the option to move more freely..I would probably use zip car or other rental services more frequently as an option.

I would love to take Amtrak from NYC to Vermont..but once you get to these places..you have no way of branching out and their taxi services are extremely expensive and service is limited in these areas. National rental car is closed long before the daily train even arrives from NYC in most Vermont train stops. This is where zip car would be most helpful.

What if zip cars strategically placed more zip cars around train stations. Wouldn't they get more business?
Yes yes yes I've been waiting for a decade for zipcar or other car share at the albany ny train station. Can't figure out why no car rental or share companies offer rentals after 5pm or so. I take the train from western ny frequently to albany, usually arriving in the evening, or on weekend when rentals are closed in city. Going to the airport for car rental adds an hour to my trip and lots of expense. Why won't one of the rental companies pick up the extra business and stay open? Better yet, add a car share service. Many many many times I drive when I'd rather take the train because I need a car on the Albany end and the car rental connections are so lousy.

Vermont stations would be great too.
 
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Ok..so I thought...what if I wanted to drive most of the way down to Florida..but didn't want to do the whole drive.

Amtrak and many other metro systems deal with people that don't own cars.

NYC is a weird situation. You have so much public transportation that the need to ever rent a car is maybe once a year. But if I knew I could get to other places and have the option to move more freely..I would probably use zip car or other rental services more frequently as an option.

I would love to take Amtrak from NYC to Vermont..but once you get to these places..you have no way of branching out and their taxi services are extremely expensive and service is limited in these areas. National rental car is closed long before the daily train even arrives from NYC in most Vermont train stops. This is where zip car would be most helpful.

What if zip cars strategically placed more zip cars around train stations. Wouldn't they get more business?
While not zip car related, to your desire to travel to Vermont from NYC. Check out the link attached for public transportation in Southern Vermont. We used this service while in Vermont and it was very efficient and FREE. It works very well if you want to ski at Mt. Snow.

http://www.moover.com/index.php?map_rts_all
 
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