Tuesday, February 19, 2008



Yesterday, I rented a Zipcar to take care of some errands and also drive out to Reston to visit a friend and family.

At the end of my day, heading back to Old Town, I saw that the gas gauge was at a fourth of a tank....which is the level you need to refill the tank, for the next Zipster to use. I haven't gotten gas for the various Zipcars I've rented - so this would be my first time. The last time I actually bought gas was mid-November 2007. I was a little apprehensive about getting gas for the Zipcar, as I wasn't sure if the gas station pump I chose would have problems with the Zipcar refueling card. I did have enough money on me to buy gas, if need be, and Zipcar will reimburse you when you submit the receipt.

I chose a gas station at random, as it didn't matter to me what the price was, since Zipcar was paying. :) I got the refueling card out, along with the small instruction card. After correctly inserting the card, the screen prompted me to enter the "Driver Number" - so I put in the driver number that's printed on the card. Then it asked me for the odometer mileage. I didn't know I'd need that, so I ran back to the car to get the exact mileage, and inputted it. A couple of seconds of "Authorizing...." and then I was allowed to pump. :) Good! I filled it up ($32), and printed out a receipt, though you don't need to - I was just curious to see what the receipt would show. Plus, it was nice to see a receipt and know that the money hadn't come out of my pocket! :)