16 ms·

Same here. I'm one of the (numerous) "founder members" of Streetcar so I pay no annual fee to be a member, this was one of the major things that enticed me to S

by alexkus 14y ago

Same here. I'm one of the (numerous) "founder members" of Streetcar so I pay no annual fee to be a member, this was one of the major things that enticed me to Streetcar in the first place. Luckily that deal stayed in place when it was taken over by Zipcar and I'm really hoping Avis continue to honour this agreement.

jusben1369 14y ago
That's interesting. Zipcar was acquired as it's growth just wasn't good enough (Q3 was 15% YoY I think I read) Stock was well below IPO levels. Too often I see startups do a) Initial crazy pricing deals to get traction b) Initial members who will light up the internet if they're not grandfathered forever and c) Initial members who curse when the service shuts down or is acquired. Now if that lack of an annual fee really is what enticed you then maybe the economics of these services aren't compelling enough to built independent, sustainable businesses.
ragmondo 14y ago
Me too ! I held out and held out and held out and I think they even threw in 200 quid credit into the deal too after the streetcar-> zipcar takeover. I am a family chap and we used to be a 2 car house but that was just due to the occasional time where the missus was using the main car for work and we "needed" a 2nd car. I only use zipcar 10 times a year but it works well enough for me (apart from the nearest car being 2 tube stops away). I don't think Avis can rescind on this ??? I hope not anyway...
- unreal37 14y ago
  Perhaps off topic, but I love all the Britishisms in this comment. So many words Americans and Canadians don't use in there.
  - ZoFreX 14y ago
    Not off topic: Translations! quid = pounds sterling (GBP), UK currency chap = guy missus = wife or partner - pronounced similar to "Mrs" tube stop = London Underground ("the tube") station
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
- alexkus 14y ago
  > I only use zipcar 10 times a year but it works well enough for me (apart from the nearest car being 2 tube stops away). Ah, we've got 20 cars within 1 mile of our house. That certainly makes it easier and I generally have no problem finding a free car within easy walking distance even on short notice.
mseebach 14y ago
Of course, if they made a deal with you, they shouldn't go back on it. But you're getting a service that the rest of us pay £60/year for, for free, for probably about 8 years now (Streetcar launched in 2004), that you seem to value. Surely there are more fundamental things about the service they could screw up than ending your free lunch?
- alexkus 14y ago
  I don't see why they won't go back on the deal. The T&Cs say that things can be changed. The original deal was already changed with the Streetcar -> Zipcar conversion. My original Streetcar deal was for no annual fees and a £150 deposit (that would be refunded if I left Streetcar). Zipcar gave me the option of:- a) Getting my £150 back and leaving Zipcar, although I would be free to rejoin and pay an annual sub. b) Keep my existing £0/year deal but have the £150 deposit converted into £150 of credit that had to be used within 9 months (I think). Went for this and the £150 credit was quickly gone in two 24 hour rentals to go see family. To be clear, I kind of expect Avis to end up backing out of the "founder members" deal and I'll be annoyed if they do, but there's nothing much I can do to stop it, and I don't see anything in the existing (or previous) T&Cs that would prevent it. On one hand Avis are big enough to just keep the deal going for the existing members, maybe start to offer a new service that is only available to members that pay an annual sub. Or maybe they're big enough that they don't care about the small group of users that don't pay annual subs and will force them to pay up or go away. [EDIT] And, yes, there's loads of other things they could do to annoy me more.

by alexkus 14y ago

jusben1369 14y ago

That's interesting. Zipcar was acquired as it's growth just wasn't good enough (Q3 was 15% YoY I think I read) Stock was well below IPO levels. Too often I see startups do a) Initial crazy pricing deals to get traction b) Initial members who will light up the internet if they're not grandfathered forever and c) Initial members who curse when the service shuts down or is acquired. Now if that lack of an annual fee really is what enticed you then maybe the economics of these services aren't compelling enough to built independent, sustainable businesses.

ragmondo 14y ago

Me too ! I held out and held out and held out and I think they even threw in 200 quid credit into the deal too after the streetcar-> zipcar takeover. I am a family chap and we used to be a 2 car house but that was just due to the occasional time where the missus was using the main car for work and we "needed" a 2nd car. I only use zipcar 10 times a year but it works well enough for me (apart from the nearest car being 2 tube stops away). I don't think Avis can rescind on this ??? I hope not anyway...

unreal37 14y ago
Perhaps off topic, but I love all the Britishisms in this comment. So many words Americans and Canadians don't use in there.
- ZoFreX 14y ago
  Not off topic: Translations! quid = pounds sterling (GBP), UK currency chap = guy missus = wife or partner - pronounced similar to "Mrs" tube stop = London Underground ("the tube") station
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
alexkus 14y ago
> I only use zipcar 10 times a year but it works well enough for me (apart from the nearest car being 2 tube stops away). Ah, we've got 20 cars within 1 mile of our house. That certainly makes it easier and I generally have no problem finding a free car within easy walking distance even on short notice.

mseebach 14y ago

Of course, if they made a deal with you, they shouldn't go back on it. But you're getting a service that the rest of us pay £60/year for, for free, for probably about 8 years now (Streetcar launched in 2004), that you seem to value. Surely there are more fundamental things about the service they could screw up than ending your free lunch?

alexkus 14y ago
I don't see why they won't go back on the deal. The T&Cs say that things can be changed. The original deal was already changed with the Streetcar -> Zipcar conversion. My original Streetcar deal was for no annual fees and a £150 deposit (that would be refunded if I left Streetcar). Zipcar gave me the option of:- a) Getting my £150 back and leaving Zipcar, although I would be free to rejoin and pay an annual sub. b) Keep my existing £0/year deal but have the £150 deposit converted into £150 of credit that had to be used within 9 months (I think). Went for this and the £150 credit was quickly gone in two 24 hour rentals to go see family. To be clear, I kind of expect Avis to end up backing out of the "founder members" deal and I'll be annoyed if they do, but there's nothing much I can do to stop it, and I don't see anything in the existing (or previous) T&Cs that would prevent it. On one hand Avis are big enough to just keep the deal going for the existing members, maybe start to offer a new service that is only available to members that pay an annual sub. Or maybe they're big enough that they don't care about the small group of users that don't pay annual subs and will force them to pay up or go away. [EDIT] And, yes, there's loads of other things they could do to annoy me more.