Zipcar and the University of California, Berkeley's Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC), announced that two in five corporate Zipcar members — people who join a carsharing program through an affiliation with an employer — sell or avoid buying a vehicle after joining Zipcar.

This was a finding from TSRC's case study on the impact of carsharing programs used by businesses.

Twenty percent of all Zipcar for Business members reported that they sold a personally owned car after becoming a member, while another 20% avoided buying a car as a result of joining Zipcar through an employer-sponsored account, according to the study.

"Zipcar's mission is to enable simple and responsible urban living," said Kaye Ceille, Zipcar president. "Businesses are increasingly conscious of their environmental footprint, and we're proud that this research supports what we've long believed — that Zipcar for Business has many significant environmental benefits for companies, including reducing vehicles on the road."

In total, the Zipcar for Business program has eliminated the need for roughly 33,000 vehicles across North America, according to the study. The study also found that of those Zipcar members who switched to zero-car households after joining a carsharing business program, 41% percent take public transit more often, 22% bike more often and 41% walk more.

"The business and corporate market for car sharing — until now — has not been well researched," said Dr. Susan Shaheen, co-director of the TSRC. "Applying our team and research expertise to Zipcar's raw data gives us the first look into how business carsharing members change behavior, and we found that this service yielded reduced car ownership and increased multi-modal behavior, particularly among corporate members that became zero-car households due to business carsharing."

For more information about Zipcar for Business, visit www.zipcar.com/business.