19 April 2005
A new project taking place in the American city of Boston is harnessing the Internet to help reduce congestion and pollution on the city's streets
The new application, called Zipcar, allows users to book cars online - which are then picked up at a designated location, reports the BBC.
The system differs from traditional car hire in that there is never any paperwork and insurance is pre-screened and automatic, and hire periods can be as little as an hour.
The car has an RFID (radio frequency ID) reader on the windscreen and a plastic card containing an RFID chip is given to each member.
Wireless technology feeds information on the car to central database to tabs can be kept and the cars location is also known.
Zipcar claims that for every car available for hire, more than 20 personally owned vehicles are taken off the roads, thus reducing congestion and pollution.© DeHavilland Information Services plc
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