By Annie MartinThe Daily Northwestern

International car sharing company Zipcar is expanding its service in Evanston.

The company recently made available two new cars – one at the intersection of Church Street and Chicago Avenue and the other at Sherman Plaza, the high-rise residential and commercial center bordered by Sherman and Benson avenues and Davis and Church streets.

Zipcar, which lets drivers 21 and older who pay a membership fee, reserve cars for hourly or daily basis, already had one car at each of these locations.

Tobia Ciottone, Zipcar’s regional marketing manager, said that although Evanstonians have easy access to public transportation, “there are times when people really need a car.”

During those times, Zipcar offers its vehicles – two Mazda 3s, a Toyota Matrix and a Volvo S40 – to members for fees of $9 to $10 per hour or $66 to $73 per day.

“You don’t have to pay for gas or insurance but you still have the convenience of owning a car,” Ciottone said.

There are more than 2,500 Zipcars and 85,000 members worldwide. Chicago alone has about 140 cars, Ciottone said.

Another car sharing service, I-GO, began offering a car in the parking lot near Lunt Hall and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary last year, said Brian Peters, NU’s director of university services.

Although I-GO Sales and Marketing Manager Richard Kosmacher could not give exact numbers on how often the car was used or how many NU members there are, he called it a “busy and successful car.”

“It’s a program we encourage people to participate in, in part to reduce the stress on parking,” Peters said.

The car is used mostly by faculty and staff members because drivers must be at least 21, Peters said. However, Sharon Feigon, I-GO’s chief executive officer said the car soon will be available to drivers 18 and older, which will allow more students to use the service.

I-GO is also considering placing additional cars in the NU lot and other parts of Evanston.

Chicago has about 125 vehicles to serve about 7,000 I-GO members. The city’s density makes it conducive to car sharing, Feigon said.

Weinberg senior Beach Lagassa said she’s never used a car sharing service before, but that she has seen Zipcar vehicles in Evanston and might consider it in the future.

“I have friends with cars, but if I didn’t want to burden someone (I might use it),” she said.

Reach Annie Martin at [email protected].