In an effort to deal with a growing campus and the demand for student transportation, the University has initiated several programs to help students remain mobile without keeping a car in Providence. While a program with short-term rental company Zipcar has been the most recent development by the University, a joint program with Enterprise Rent-A-Car still serves as the foundation for student rental opportunities.
Set up over a year ago by the University Controller's Office, the agreement with Enterprise gives special corporate rates to Brown community members. One clear advantage of this program is that the age requirement for renting a car is four years lower than the national standard, making anyone over 21 eligible to rent.
Guaranteed rates at any Enterprise station in Rhode Island, Massachusetts or Connecticut for a compact car are between $29 and $32 daily or $160 and $175 weekly. Enterprise does not charge younger drivers a higher rate, and the Brown deal is a substantial discount from Enterprise's normal rates.
The theory is that for occasional users it is cheaper to rent a car than bring one to campus, said Abigail Rider, director of real estate and administrative services.
Students are not the sole beneficiaries of the deal. Administrators at the University are looking at "transportation demand management measures," ways to alleviate possible tensions in the traffic flow throughout the campus area, Rider said.
Rider was involved in the creation of the joint program with Enterprise and believes that lightening the traffic load at Brown is an urgent priority.
"Anytime we propose building a new building, one of our big concerns is the traffic situation around the area," Rider said. Considering that the majority of student cars on campus are for very occasional use only, Rider hopes that this program will give students a reason to leave their cars behind. In the end, Brown must "reduce the number of cars on College Hill in order to grow," she said.
Rider has also had personal experience with the Enterprise program, saying that it was "great" and she appreciated the free and convenient shuttle to the pick-up site.
"Brown should have a better system set up so people can get around Providence," said Jake Donoghue '09, a native of Providence and has access to a car. "I would use a car to get downtown on the weekends, run errands and go to the train station or airport," he added.
Wilton Fernandez '06, a student from New York, brought his car from home. "It gives me a chance to get off campus and visit special parts of Providence," he said. He said it also helps him change up his dining experience by being able to get to the ethnic restaurants on the south side of the city.
For students who choose to bring their cars, Brown offers student parking for approximately $480 a year. For the additional accessibility to Providence, car owners like Fernandez are willing to pay the parking fee and also deal with other factors like rising gas prices.
While Enterprise was the company originally tested and set up specifically for students, it is not the "preferred" business vendor for the school's staff, said Christine Wood, director of University disbursements for the controller's office. Instead, National Car Rental is the company of choice for Brown faculty, for whom renting cars at a discount is simply included in their job. Not only have Brown faculty members had more experience with rental car companies, but for them convenient transportation is much more of an issue, Wood said.
"The faculty is never required to use these vendors," Wood says, "so 'preferred' doesn't mean only."
Although organizers said the Enterprise program has only received positive feedback, the University is still keeping the future in mind and considering possible alternatives to the current plan.
One possibility is extending the program with National to apply to students, Wood said. Another highly popular yet incredibly difficult proposal is to get a discount on rail fare for students.
