Today, the City of Knoxville launched a new partnership with Zipcar, Inc., to offer a car sharing program. The convenient transportation option is now available at an affordable rate 24/7 for members of the local community ages 21 and over. Students ages 18 and over at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, will also have access to the Zipcar vehicles.

This year, thanks to a grant to improve air quality from the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization, the one-time application fee and first year membership fee are waived for Knoxville members. After the first year, Knoxville community members will pay an annual membership fee of $60, and students, faculty and staff of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, will pay an annual membership fee of $35. Rates for reserving Zipcar vehicles start as low as $7.50 per hour and $69 per day. Gas, insurance and up to 180 miles of driving per day are included in Zipcar rates, and cars can be reserved for as little as an hour or for multiple days.

"We are pleased to welcome Zipcar to Knoxville. Car sharing will provide a new, flexible transportation option for local residents and visitors," Mayor Madeline Rogero said.

Knoxville will initially offer four vehicles, including Ford Focus and Honda Civic models, two of which will be located on the Gay Street Viaduct. In addition to the Zipcars located in downtown Knoxville, two cars will be located on the University of Tennessee campus at the intersection of 20th Street and Andy Holt Avenue, across from the Student Aquatic Center. Zipcars are available on-demand and can be easily reserved and accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"We wanted to bring car sharing to Knoxville to help improve air quality in our region," said Jeff Welch, director of the Knoxville Transportation Planning Organization. "It's one more tool for our Smart Trips program to offer as encouragement for downtown commuters to choose alternatives to driving alone."

Participating members with smartphones, including iPhones and Android devices, may download the Zipcar mobile application to make reservations, lock and unlock the vehicles and honk the horn to help locate the vehicle. Members can also use Zipcar's "Reserve a Zipcar" app on Facebook to view available Zipcars and make, extend or cancel reservations from their Facebook account. Reservations can also be made over the phone or on Zipcar's website.

For more information and how to become a member of Zipcar in the City of Knoxville, please visit www.zipcar.com.

A Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement grant was awarded by the Tennessee Department of Transportation to the Knoxville/Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission for membership subsidies and marketing of car sharing in Knoxville. The Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization is managing the project.

About Zipcar

Zipcar is the world's leading car-sharing network with more than 777,000 members and nearly 10,000 vehicles located in major metropolitan areas and college campuses throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain and Austria. Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models of self-service vehicles by the hour or day to residents and businesses looking for an alternative to the high costs and hassles of owning a car. More information is available at www.zipcar.com. Zipcar and the Zipcar logo are trademarks of Zipcar, Inc.