Flexcar Helps Volunteer Tutors Get to School; Will Provide Transportation Link for Outreach Program

    PORTLAND, Ore.--Oct. 18, 2002--Flexcar, the nation's largest provider of car-sharing services, announced a partnership with the Connecting for Kids 3rd grade reading initiative to help Multnomah County students improve their reading abilities.
    The announcement was made in conjunction with a press conference at Chief Joseph Elementary School, which featured Multnomah County Chair Diane Linn and Portland Mayor Vera Katz.
    Connecting for Kids is a joint effort by the Commission on Children, Families & Community of Multnomah County (CCFC) and the Leader's Roundtable, a coalition of executives from the public and private sector. The initiative aims to increase the number of reading volunteers in the classroom -- a proven strategy for significantly improving student reading performance.
    Flexcar's participation in the program will achieve two important goals. First, it will provide a key mobility option for participants in the program, making it easy for them to get to and from the schools in which they volunteer. The second benefit is in reduced congestion and traffic. Participants can continue to use public transit to get to work on days they are scheduled to volunteer, since they will have access to a vehicle near their office.
    Flexcar's innovative program provides members with access to a fleet of 40 environmentally-friendly vehicles, including gas-electric hybrids and light pickup trucks, located in Portland and Vancouver, Wash. Members reserve the vehicles for hourly use with Flexcar covering the cost of the car, gas, parking, insurance, and maintenance. Members pay an hourly or monthly rate for use of the vehicles. Hourly rates are $3.50 per hour plus $.90 per mile, and monthly plans begin at $35, which includes up to 5 hours and 50 miles of use.
    With today's announcement, volunteers whose employers become Flexcar members can use Flexcar free of charge to travel to and from the schools.
    "The whole point of Flexcar is to fill the gaps in the community's transportation needs, so we're delighted to be able to serve in this way," said Bill Scott, the general manager of Flexcar's Portland regional office. "This partnership is a natural fit."
    "Flexcar's participation in this program fills a 'missing link' for us -- how to get our transit riding volunteers to and from the schools," says Sue Cameron, Executive Director, CCFC. "The easier it is to volunteer, the more people who will do it. Flexcar helps make it easy to participate in Connecting for Kids."
    Flexcar's vehicles are located in close-in Portland neighborhoods as well as in downtown Vancouver. Full vehicle location information is available at Flexcar's website at www.flexcar.com or by calling the local office at 503/328-3539.
    Following a successful European model, Flexcar launched its Seattle operations in 2000, and has since won numerous awards and commendations for its program that reduces congestion, air pollution and energy use, while increasing use of public transportation and contributing to sustainable communities. Used in conjunction with public transit, car/vanpools and walking/biking, car-sharing helps individuals meet their transportation needs in an economic and environmentally responsible manner, giving them the freedom of car ownership.

    Flexcar

    Headquartered in Seattle, Flexcar now operates car-sharing programs for more than 7,500 members in more than a dozen cities and counties in 5 states and the District of Columbia. With flexible pricing plans, members can reserve and drive any of these cars whenever and wherever they need to, without filling out complicated paperwork, paying for insurance, gas or repairs. Flexcar Business Memberships enable companies to augment or replace their fleet with Flexcar vehicles. Flexcar's modern fleet includes sedans, gas-electric hybrids, electric cars and specialty vehicles including pickups and convertibles. Flexcar has established strategic partnerships with King County (Wash.) Metro, Kitsap County (Wash.) Transit, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Parsons Transportation Group and American Honda Motor Company, Inc.

    Editor's Note: Correct spelling and punctuation is "Flexcar"; not FlexCar or Flex Car.