Zipcar expands in Bethesda as some competitors disappear (Photos)

Zipcar is winning the car-sharing war in downtown Bethesda. The company is essentially the only game in town at this point. Hertz On Demand once had a presence downtown but has vanished. Zipcar now holds 4 spaces here in the Cordell-St. Elmo garage alone, where Hertz once operated, and many others around town.

Other players seeking to expand in the area include Enterprise and the promising new Maven service from General Motors. The latter offers A-list vehicles like the Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Volt.

Zipcar is the one with the physical presence at this moment, however. Right now, for example, Maven's cars are parked only within the District. None are close to the D.C. line in Palisades, Spring Valley or Tenleytown, either.

HERTZ ON DEMAND TAKES ON ZIPCAR IN DOWNTOWN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Hertz is after a piece of the car-sharing market in downtown Bethesda. Hertz On Demand is the company's answer to ZipCar, and is now available at several downtown Bethesda locations.  This short video gives you a quick primer on how the service works.

Hertz On Demand cars are available at the following locations around downtown Bethesda: 4817 Edgemoor Lane (The Metropolitan public parking garage), 7301 Waverly Street, and 4538 Middleton Lane.

But there is also a fourth location, so new it doesn't appear on the website yet: the Cordell-St. Elmo public parking garage. I haven't seen any Hertz On Demand vehicles in those 2 spaces yet, but the sign has been installed.

I tried the website, and located cars at the other 3 locations, as you can see in the screen captures I took below. Then I went in person to find the Fiat 500 and Toyota Yaris, and sure enough, there they were.

The cars are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and you can also reserve them in advance. No word if they'll add a full-size van like ZipCar has - the biggest Hertz car I found downtown was the Jeep Liberty.