Word: flexcars
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...Fran Trowbridge, 72, a retiree, the answer was easy. Two Flexcars are stationed in the garage of a Seattle high-rise next to hers. A month after joining Flexcar, she sold her Ford Taurus. Insurance had cost her more than she pays for 10 hours of monthly car-share fees, which is all she needs to shop and visit friends. "And I sure don't miss the maintenance and lubing part," she says. Similarly, for the Steelquists--a two-job, two-kid, two-car family--price was a motive. "We wanted to dial back on expenses and also reduce...
...that's possible because Kim and her husband, architect Michael Mariano, are members of Flexcar, one of more than a dozen car-sharing companies revving up across the U.S. As such, the pair have only to jump on the Internet or call a local number to reserve one of several vehicles parked in their neighborhood. They can choose between a Honda, a Lexus, a minivan for carting equipment or, for a jaunty weekend outing, a silver Mazda Miata. They can enter the car any time of night or day with a security-coded electronic card, get charged by the hour...
Cities love the idea and are actively encouraging it. In Seattle, the municipal government runs a "One Car Challenge," doling out $50 a month in free Flexcar use for a year to people who can prove they sold their family's second car in favor of car sharing. In Portland, Ore., people whose automobiles fail emissions tests get $500 worth of free Flexcar use if they junk their cars. Outside Washington, the Virginia suburbs of Alexandria and Arlington pay membership fees for any residents who want to join a car-sharing plan. In Greenbelt, Md., the city leases a vehicle...
...month to own a modest vehicle--what with payments, depreciation, insurance, maintenance and gasoline. Yet government surveys show that most cars are driven only about an hour a day. Those same 30 hours a month would cost less than $300 in a car-share program. Zipcar and Seattle-based Flexcar, the industry leaders, charge an annual membership fee of $25 to $50 and an hourly rate of $7.50 to $10, depending on the user's monthly driving plan (drive more, pay less). And that hourly charge includes insurance, parking, maintenance and fuel (a company credit card in the glove compartment...
...Berkeley. The idea spread to the U.S. in 1998, with the opening of a small company in Portland, Ore. Since then, the movement has grown to 14 firms with 62,000 members in 14 states and the District of Columbia. The firms range from ambitious outfits like Zipcar and Flexcar, which are each adding as many as 1,000 members a month, to modest start-ups like the Dancing Rabbit Vehicle Co-operative in Rutledge, Mo., and Roaring Fork Vehicles in Aspen, Colo. Zipcar and Flexcar, zealous rivals, both say they will break even for the first time next month...