Metro News Release

For immediate release: June 5, 2003

Car sharing program continues to roll at Metro

Metro’s 18-month-old car sharing demonstration program with Flexcar continues to increase the mobility of transit users by providing an additional travel option. Metro’s Board of Directors approved the one-year car sharing contract with Flexcar in November 2001 and opted to accept the first of four renewal options in November 2002. Today, Metro’s Planning and Development Committee recommended authorizing the CEO to execute the second one-year option of the car sharing program. The full Board is expected to vote on the recommendation at its monthly meeting on June 19.The car sharing program has 48 vehicles located at or near 33 Metrorail stations serving diversified geographic locations in all of the local jurisdictions. Flexcar has added pick up trucks and hybrid Honda vehicles to its fleet, and integration with SmarTrip cards is anticipated later this calendar year.With more than 2,200 members of the Flexcar program signed up since the December 2001 launch, the average trip for a car share member is about 3.4 hours. So far, the most popular stations for car sharing are Silver Spring, Eastern Market, Union Station and Dupont Circle. Most of Flexcar’s members hail from the District of Columbia (55 percent), with Virginia (24 percent) and Maryland (18 percent) also reporting healthy percentages of members.A recent survey of Flexcar members shows the following trends:

  • 95 percent of Flexcar members are pleased with their overall experience with the car sharing program.
  • 97 percent of Flexcar members feel that Flexcar services are a worthwhile complement to Metro services.
  • Half of Flexcar members feel more confident taking transit to work knowing that they have access to a vehicle in case of an emergency or change of plans.
  • 70 percent of Flexcar members take public transit at least occasionally to access their Flexcar and new members tend to increase their transit usage by about three trips per week.
  • 57 percent of Flexcar members surveyed reported that joining Flexcar has delayed their decision to buy a new car.
  • At least a third of Flexcar members who owned a car when they joined have since sold or considered selling their car.
Recent enhancements to the Flexcar program include a touchtone telephone reservation system; installation of proximity card access to vehicles; and on-board computers that provide the company with real-trip information so that customers don’t have to record mileage. An internet-based reservation system will launch this summer. Thirty-six new vehicles will be added to the car sharing fleet by year-end.For more information on the Flexcar car sharing program, visit www.flexcar.com or call 202-775-6018.

News release issued on June 5, 2003.