Flexcar Increases Seattle Fleet by Nearly 20 Percent; Driven by More Members and Increased Use, Company Adds Cars and Trucks

SEATTLE--March 31, 2004--Flexcar, the nation's oldest and largest provider of car-sharing programs, has added 23 vehicles to its Seattle-area fleet. Responding to an increase in both members and use, Flexcar now has a total of 130 vehicles in more than 20 neighborhoods in Seattle, as well as on the Eastside and Bainbridge Island.

Through its ongoing partnership with King County Metro Transit, Flexcar's innovative program provides individuals and businesses with access to this fleet of vehicles located throughout Seattle. Members reserve the vehicles via the Web or touch-tone phone for hourly use with Flexcar covering the cost of the car, gas, parking, insurance and maintenance. Members access the cars via a specially coded keycard, and pay hourly or discounted monthly rates for use of the vehicles.

There are now 130 Flexcar vehicles located in neighborhoods, office buildings, on-street spots, supermarket parking lots and other locations throughout the region. With membership in just the Seattle area fast approaching 10,000, including individuals, families and businesses, the need for additional vehicles was evident. Nationwide, Flexcar has nearly 20,000 members and more than 300 vehicles.

Flexcar recently celebrated its fourth anniversary of car-sharing in Seattle. What began as a pilot program sponsored by Metro Transit four years ago with four cars and a few dozen members on Capitol Hill has now become a vital part of the city-wide transportation infrastructure. In the last month alone, Seattle-area Flexcar members logged more than 15,000 hours during more than 4,000 trips. A significant portion of this use came from business members, who are replacing fleet vehicles with Flexcar, saving money and administrative overhead.

Flexcar also welcomed a new general manager to its Seattle region. Brett Allen, who was previously director of sales operations on the corporate team, was selected to lead the region when its former general manager, William del Valle assumed the same role in the company's San Diego region.

"With as much momentum as we have right now, I truly believe we still have significant room to grow even larger and faster," said Allen. "More cars means more convenience for more people. This will translate into more members, which will bring us back to needing more cars. This is a great positive reinforcement cycle of success."

Following a successful European model, Flexcar launched its Seattle operations in 2000, and has since won numerous awards and commendations for its program that increases mobility for urban individuals and businesses in a convenient and cost effective manner, while simultaneously reducing congestion and air pollution, increasing use of public transportation and contributing to sustainable communities.

People interested in becoming members can join online at www.flexcar.com or call 1-877-FLEXCAR for more information. Memberships are available for an annual fee of $25.00.

Flexcar

Headquartered in Seattle, Flexcar now operates car-sharing programs for nearly 20,000 members in more than a dozen cities and counties in 6 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 and specialty vehicles including pickups, minivans and convertibles. Flexcar has established strategic partnerships with King County (Wash.) Metro Transit, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Parsons Transportation Group, American Honda Motor Company, Inc. and Bristol Bay Native Corporation.