Robin Chase

Full-time 2004-2005

Photo by Doug Cogger

Robin Chase is the founder and former CEO of Zipcar, one of the nation's premier organizations offering car rentals by the hour, with headquarters located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Zipcar makes use of technological innovations to make reservations and car pick-up extremely convenient. These strategies have led to a dramatic growth in membership and an increasing impact on transportation choices in Boston, New York and Washington, DC.  Numerous public agencies have replaced their automobile fleets with Zipcar contracts and research shows that every Zipcar is responsible for a reduction in private car ownership of 8-10 vehicles.  She is particularly interested in the impact of urban and infrastructure planning and building on long-term transportation choices in the United States and other nations.  As a Loeb Fellow, Robin will study transportation policy, urban design and city planning.