by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:00 PM ET, Mon April 6, 2015
Photo courtesy of Zipcar
Zipcar is one of the world's fastest-growing automobile rental companies, and the car-sharing service has expanded from the United States and Western Europe to the country of Turkey.
According to the Hurriyet Daily News, Zipcar is teaming up with Otokoc Automotive, one of the country's top car rental services and a staple of the market for 41 years. Together, the companies will offer an hourly car rental system with locations all around participating cities, starting with Istanbul.
As if a short-term car rental wasn't ideal enough for a city dweller on the go, Zipcar will also be picking up the tab on the insurance and gasoline, making this an intriguing deal to local consumers.
Zipcar's head of European operations, Massimo Marsili, spoke at a press conference about how big it was for the company to move into the Turkish market: "We are happy to contribute efforts to ease traffic congestion in Istanbul and to provide an alternative mode of transportation in the city."
Istanbul is Turkey's largest city (15 million residents) and suffers from the worst traffic congestion in Europe, according to a report from Dutch navigation firm TomTom. The rise in car ownership has made the problem event worse, and the hope is that a car-sharing program like Zipcar can ease the pressure on the infrastructure.
The government has tried to build public transportation as a viable alternative, but the car rental option could be more intriguing for people in the heart of Istanbul.
Zipcar initially started in 2000 in the United States, but has spread to Europe in recent years and its reach continues growing with the jump into the Turkish market.
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