Flexcar (as well as it’s competitor Zipcar) is one of the best business innovations to come along in recent years. The whole idea of flexible car sharing is something that really makes a whole lot of sense, especially in an urban environment.
I’ve been living in and around DC for over five years now and the last year has been without a car. The year without the car has been, without a doubt, far less stressful in terms of commuting than the previous four. Washington is notorious for it’s lousy traffic congestion, and I can remember many instances where I would turn onto the onramp of 66, only to be faced with a sea of brake lights as far as the eye can see.
The first step to solving this commuting nightmare I had was to find myself an apartment in the District. The second was to get a new job out of the nightmarish suburban sprawl of Northern Virginia and work somewhere downtown. Once I accomplished those two goals, I was free from the shackles of my previous car requirement.
I sold my car (actually it was an oversized SUV that I had no need for) in October 2004 and became a Flexcar member. Now instead of having monthly car expenses that totalled almost $600, I was only paying $9 an hour to have access to a car…and that includes gas and insurance. How awesome is that? To come close to my previous $600 monthly expense, I’d have to use Flexcar about hours a month, which is pretty much impossible since I only really need a car for a few hours each weekend.
Well, now after a year or Flexcar, I imagine estimate I’ve saved several thousand dollars in car expenses, not to mention using a lot less gas with the thrifty Honda Civic hybrids instead of my old guzzling SUV. And lastly, I don’t have the hassle of circling the block seven times looking for a parking spot when I return from a grocery trip. Just drop off my groceries at home and put the Flexcar back in the spot I picked it up.
Bottom line is, everyone’s gotta get on board here. Unless it’s really critical for you to own your own car (yes, I know it’s really nice and convenient to have your own car), I’d say get rid of it, save a lot of money, don’t have any more parking troubles, and help conserve gas by using the thrifty Flexcar hybrids.