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Self-Serve Car Rental
abb_road writes "Claiming 'Web2.0 values meet Brick and Mortar,' BusinessWeek is reporting on an entirely self service car rental company. Zipcar customers make all reservations online or using a cell phone, then use a card-key to pick up their car from the parking garage--no attendants needed. According to the article, one of the other important attractions of the system is transparency; the reservations system allows you to see exactly what cars in the area will be available at what times, and then reserve or adjust your plans accordingly. From the article: 'If the nearest Mini convertible is booked until 3 p.m., the customer might postpone plans by an hour to get it -- or decide the Mazda with a sunroof on another lot will do.'"
The one in the Netherlands is called Greenwheels and has complete neighbourhood coverage in the major 40 cities. It works by the same principles, since 1995. I used to have nine in walking distance from my home when I still lived in Amsterdam. One of the most convenient features of the system is that you can decide to use it from everywhere. Suddenly need a car at work? Want to take the train to some city, and then a car to get to some village? I'm still subscribed to it.
I can speak to this as a Flexcar member (and as someone who's interviewed the ZipCar folks as well, though I'm not in a city for which that service is available). Cleaning is done fairly regularly -- cars leave their designated parking spots for a few hours, then they come back. (You can also get a little usage credit if you take the car through the wash and remember to turn in your receipt.) As for dents and such, each user is expected to check over the vehicle before the trip starts and make note of any damage, just as one does a rental car. If you screw things up mid-reservation, there's a number to call and a procedure to follow.
Nice bonus BTW: I had a reservation a few months back on a car that got into an accident about 30 minutes before my reservation was to start. (The previous user was parking and things didn't quite work out with his technique.) Flexcar phoned me to let me know that there was a problem, reserved the closest available vehicle for me, and gave me a nice credit "for my inconvenience." A really great customer service experience.