Car Rentals
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Check the Zipcar website for current Zipcar locations or download the Zipcar app.
Zipcar for Personal Use
Wish you had a car to get your surfboard to the surf? Need a vehicle to get you and your friends off campus or to go shopping? Want to go hiking at a local park? Happy to ride the bus or your bike, but sometimes need access to a car?
Zipcar is the answer. It is a membership-based car rental program providing self-service access to vehicles on campus, 24/7. At UCSC, all UCSC students 18 years of age and older, as well as staff and faculty, are eligible to join Zipcar for affordable, convenient access to a car when needed, for personal use. Reserve a vehicle online by the hour or day – just pay as you go. Avoid all the hassles and costs of car ownership. Zipcar rental fees include all vehicle fees, gas, insurance, mileage, and parking in marked spaces at UCSC.
Santa Cruz Community residents 21 years of age and older can also join Zipcar at their regular membership rate.
Note that vehicle availability may fluctuate at some locations at certain times of the year.
Zipcar for UCSC Department Use
Please note: Student employees 18 years of age and older are now eligible to drive Zipcars for UC-related short-term business travel. For insurance reasons, all business travel through Zipcar MUST be made on a departmental Zipcar account.
To set up a Departmental Zipcar account, take the following steps:
- Designate a Department Administrator
- The Department Administrator should contact Zipcar to initialize a department account.
- Once the account is established, the Department Administrator can set up individual staff business accounts for each potential traveler in the department.
Department Administrator Responsibilities
- Determine whether the Department Zipcar account will have departmental or individual billing.
- Verify the completed applications for staff and faculty in the department.
- Train new users to make reservation requests and appropriately document them in the Zipcar platform.
- Advise individual users of their payment options (see below).
- Ensure the Department’s ProCard Administrator receives all appropriate documentation related to Zipcar rentals.
- Zipcar will notify users when their application has been approved.
Accepted Payment Methods
- Departmental ProCard
- Departmental Invoice
- Individual UCSC ProCard
- Individual UCSC CTE Card
- UCSC Personal Liability Travel Credit Card (charges are paid by the traveler, and they must request a reimbursement)
- Personal Credit Card (charges are paid by the traveler, and they must request a reimbursement)
The purpose of the UC business trip must be documented at the time of your Zipcar reservation. A departmental business Zipcar account may not be used for personal travel. Only staff approved for membership by Zipcar may drive Zipcars.
Parking Zipcars on Campus
Zipcars may park in any marked, non-reserved parking space on campus without an additional UCSC parking permit. Each Zipcar is assigned a specific parking space, which is reserved for that car at all times.
Rental Car Discounts for UCSC Affiliates
The offers and rebates shown below are for information purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of any of the listed products, services, or programs. Staff and faculty over 21 may choose to take advantage of the following rental car discounts
Avis Car Rentals (use discount code #U953603
Budget Car Rentals (use discount code #R792303).