Ann Arbor – The University of Michigan has two more hybrid Zipcars coming in later this month throuhg the auto-sharing program Zipcar.

The cars are Honda Insight Hybrids. They are gong to be set up in reserved spots at Glen Avenue Parking Structure near Catherine Street.

August 19 is the target date when the cars are going to start operation, thus, making the downtown and campus fleets to 18 vehicles according to Grant Winston, the associate director o fU-M parking and transportation services.

Zipcar is an aut-share company. They have programs all over the country which allows the participants to pay for the car use on hourly or daily basis. Most of the cars in Ann Arbor are available for $8 per hour or $60 daily.

The program already includes gas and insurance, nad provides free parking in central locations.

It was in 2006 when U-M got its first Zipcars. There were more than 1,324 registered members at the end of July and the usage rate was too high near the end of the spring semester said Winston. According to him, the optimal use of the cars is about 45% so that users can find the car that they want.

Some residents expressed their interests in getting Zipcars to the Zipcar representatives when they visited town last March. Winston said that U-M requested a better balance for the fleet.

John Williams, spokesman for Zipcar said that U-M has three Ford Escapes among the 13 Zipcars that it has. He said that the factors considered in using a car depends on what the users request. They also have cars that have fewer carbon emissions.

Find an Ann Arbor Transportation in the Directory of Ann Arbor, MI.