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Some 33,000 people in the Washington area rely on shared cars. You can rent 'em around the city for nine bucks an hour.
Question: Where do they all go?
The life of one Zipcar, the Mazda 3 named "Mole" at 1900 15th St. NW, and its five drivers on a recent Saturday.
9 to 11:30 a.m. | Niall Keleher
Destination 1200 S. Fern St., Arlington
Mission Costco adventure
A seven-person group house needs a lot of toilet paper and a big honkin' trunk to put it in. Keleher reserved the Mazda a day in advance. "There was no time for meandering," says the World Bank economic researcher. "I like to go in with a goal." He went into Costco and, 48 rolls of Charmin later, he came out.
11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Andrew Scott
Destination 8136 Old Keene Rd., Springfield
Mission Allergy shot
Scott is allergic to: dogs, cats, horses, dust, trees, grass, pollen and mold. The architect planned to run to his doctor's office, then take his girlfriend shopping. But, tragedy -- the doctor did not have the right serum! Scott returned the car without picking up his girlfriend. He was in no mood to shop.
3:30 to 5 p.m. | Michael Kaplan
Destinations Home Depot, 901 Rhode Island Ave. NE; Art's Shoe Repair, 1627 17th St. NW; Whole Foods, 1440 P St. NW
Mission Home improvement
Saturdays, economist Kaplan has a standing reservation with the Mazda 3. Usually he takes his wife to a class at the Corcoran, then runs errands. This day he bought house paint, dropped off dry cleaning, got groceries at Whole Foods. "I am," he says, "a yuppie."
5 to 7 p.m. | Jessica Rose and Daniel Ginsberg
Destination Friendship Hospital for Animals, 4105 Brandywine St. NW
Mission Pet rescue
Lucy, the couple's 19-year-old cat, wouldn't eat. Emergency Zip! Ginsberg picked up the car, drove wife and cat to animal ER. Kidney failure, they said. Rose, a USAID worker, "cried hysterically" in the waiting room; Ginsberg returned the car (it was available only until 7), then rented another one to join the vigil. Lucy had not kidney failure but sore teeth. All's well.
7 to 9:30 p.m. | Raphael Eskinazi
Destination Reagan Airport
Mission Mother transport
Eskinazi, another World Bank employee (full circle), recently became the proud papa of his first child. Mom had come from France to see the new grandson. Stayed for two weeks. On Saturday he zipped her to the airport, stayed for a coffee and zipped back home.
-- Monica Hesse
