But with the car-sharing program Zipcar coming to campus as soon as January 2011, students such as Kubiak will have another available mode of transportation to get them from point A to point B, Kubiak said.

A year and a half after efforts began to bring Zipcar to campus, Paul Jaques, co-chair of the car-sharing program, said Zipcar and university officials are working together to bring the program, which offers a fleet of cars for students to use at their convenience for an annual fee and rental cost, to campus.

Although car locations aren’t certain yet, Jaques said six Zipcars likely will be available for student, faculty and staff use in locations across campus. Small, fuel-efficient cars with hatchbacks for bicycles likely will be the type of car used in the program, he said.

“(Zipcar) has used Toyotas, Fords and Chevys in the past,” Jaques said. “We’re trying to be true to the area since we’re a Ford and Chevy area. We’re also trying to get as many hybrids as we can.”

Users must pay a $35 annual fee, which is given back to the user in $35 worth of free driving in the first month of use. Zipcars will be available to rent for $8 per hour or for $66 per day, said Matthew Malloy, Zipcar’s vice president of university operations. Fees include gasoline, insurance and roadside assistance.

Malloy said Zipcar works much like downloading a song on iTunes — in a pay-as-you-go fashion. “Zipsters” — people who participate in the program — can reserve a car seconds before they need it or up to a year beforehand, he said.

For each new Zipcar on campus, 15 cars are expected to be taken off of the road, which Jennifer Battle, assistant director for the Office of Campus Sustainability, said will help MSU become more Spartan green.

“We did a survey a few years back and having a car-share program was identified as an area that people would feel more comfortable in leaving their cars at home,” Battle said. “We think that by adding a car-share program, we’ll see a difference in traffic and car use.”

City officials in Lansing and East Lansing also are looking into bringing the program to their areas, Jaques said, and MSU might not stop at just six Zipcars. Much depends on the program’s popularity, he said. Jaques also said that where Zipcars are used, bus usership generally goes up, which would be beneficial for the university economically and environmentally.

“It’s very forward thinking for Michigan State to be ahead of the technology,” Jaques said. “We’re thinking green.”

Kubiak said she eagerly has been awaiting the program that officials said will be an economically viable and convenient transportation option for students, while also helping the university reduce its carbon footprint.

“I use the bus a lot,” Kubiak said. “But the bus doesn’t come very efficiently. You have to be there early and sometimes you waste a lot of time waiting. (Zipcar) is a great, environmentally aware program they’re trying to implement. It’ll be great to carpool with friends.”

But some students are opposed to the idea of promoting car-sharing. Psychology senior Patrick Cuddihy said he thinks the Zipcar program will increase traffic congestion.

“(The university) should make more bike paths and racks instead,” Cuddihy said.

Staff writer Lauren Gibbons contributed to this report.