Metropolitan King County Council Honors Flexcar
Proclamation Recognizes Flexcar’s Impact on Mobility Options for King County

Contact: Larry Phillips 206 296-1004

The Metropolitan King County Council today recognized Flexcar for its tremendous achievements in providing innovative mobility options for King County residents. Based in Seattle, Flexcar is the nation’s first and largest mobility club, providing its members access to a fleet of vehicles located within King County. Members can reserve the vehicles for hourly use, with Flexcar covering the cost of gas, insurance and maintenance.

“Flexcar is innovative. It’s creative. It’s working to reduce traffic and parking problems in neighborhoods throughout King County,” said Budget Chair Larry Phillips, a strong advocate of Washington’s growth management goals. “While a lot of people like to complain about transportation problems, Flexcar and King County are doing something about it.”

Flexcar is an important ingredient in the County’s mobility program, as it encourages the use of public transportation, bicycling and walking, as well as reduces wasteful trips and demand for parking in neighborhoods. Members receive a King County Flexpass to better integrate Metro Transit services with Flexcar’s car sharing business.

“While Flexcar vehicles are most apparent in Seattle’s urban core, the program has expanded to Bellevue, and may someday expand to other suburban areas as well,” said Phillips.

According to the proclamation, the County is supporting the Flexcar program because it is valuable in “furthering the County’s role as the mobility manager in the region; it is a supportive element in the County’s transit-oriented development projects and in the County Executive’s ‘Smart Growth’ initiative; and it is being used as a strategy by major employers in their achievement of Commute Trip Reduction goals.”

“It is an honor to receive such recognition,” said Neil Peterson, Flexcar’s president and CEO. “We have been able to grow this program because of support from leaders at the community, state and federal levels. We look forward to continuing to add vehicles to the fleet, add new locations and serve an ever-growing number of members.”

Flexcar is a personal mobility club that provides its members convenient access to a fleet of new and fuel-efficient cars located across the city. For a monthly fee, members can reserve and drive any of these cars whenever and wherever they need to, without filling out additional paperwork, paying for insurance, gas or repairs. Flexcar Business Services enables corporations to augment or replace their fleet with Flexcar vehicles. Flexcar's modern fleet includes sedans, gas-electric hybrids and specialty vehicles including pickups. Members can access a Flexcar in any of the following metropolitan areas: Seattle Metro, Portland (Ore.) Metro, and Washington DC Metro. Other regions will be added in 2002.

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