Student Government and senior staff are making it easier for students to rent a car on campus, according to Assistant Director of Civic Engagement, Megan Frisque, since students under the age of 25 are now able to rent a car.
“A lot of freshmen come here without cars; a lot of organizations take trips on weekends. We wanted to provide a safe and also convenient way for them to do that,” Kelsie Huth, Student Government president said. The rental cars are being provided by Hertz car rental.
Students will be able to rent a Mini Cooper or Ford Exscape by the hour or by the day.
“If they want to go to Disney, the grocery store, or an internship off campus they could rent this car,” Frisque said.
According to Frisque, there will be a website set up for interested students. “The earliest students can sign up to rent is Feb. first,” she said. Students will be able to go online to join and then receive a card in the mail.
Students will also be able to rent the car online and then use the card to access the car.
The Ford Escape will cost nine dollars an hour to rent and the Mini Cooper $10 an hour.
It is not known yet if there will be a weekend rate.
Membership is free till May, and then there is a $50 annual membership fee and a one time $25 application fee and then students can rent as many times as they want, paying by the hour.
If students plan to use the service a lot, they can pay a flat fee and get a discount on the hourly rate. Gas and insurance is included in the cost.
The cars are located in designated spots across the street from the Security Building.
According to Frisque, there will be GPS, Bluetooth and iPods inside the cars. “It supposed to be really cool inside,” she said.
Student Government and The University of Tampa split the cost of bringing the $5,000 of delivering the cars to campus, according to Frisque.
For more information go to www.connect byhertz.com.
