Zipcar Adds Flexibility

To keep pace with new rivals, Zipcar Inc. is adding more flexible booking and travel options to its car-sharing service.

The new features will allow users to book one-way trips, extend reservations and make changes on the go during a trip. Currently, Zipcar users must return rented vehicles to their starting location and cannot extend their reservations if someone else has booked the vehicle for subsequent use.

Initially the new service will be limited to Honda Fit cars, which will allow vehicles to be more easily interchanged if there are booking overlaps.

Zipcar, a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group Inc., plans to roll out the new service in select U.S. cities next month, starting with Los Angeles. The company has been pilot testing the program in a handful of major markets for more than a year under the name ONE>WAY, which it will no longer use.

Competitors such as Daimler’s Car2Go unit already allow users to return vehicles to multiple locations within cities. Zipcar says it is evaluating a variety of other options, including travel between cities.