How do you feel about FlexCar coming to town?
One of the super little features of MetroBlogging is that you can suggest stories for us to write about. You can even make anonymous suggestions (start sharing that gossip now). Just click the link for Suggest A Story which is in the sidebar under the search box.
I am very excited about this one because I didn’t even know FlexCar was coming to Pittsburgh. So thanks for the tip.
This reader asked..
Just wondering what Pittsburghers think about Flexcar coming to town. As an out-of-towner thinking about moving to Pittsburgh, this is a nice plus about the city.
Personally, I am very excited that FlexCar is coming to Pittsburgh. Not only do I think it is a great idea. I love the the graphic of Pittsburgh that they have added to their site.
I have included some more info about FlexCar below. So what does everyone else think of FlexCar coming to Pittsburgh?
From the FlexCar website...
What is Flexcar?
Flexcar is a car-sharing company that offers members convenient access to our fleet of modern, low-emission vehicles by the hour - so you don’t have to pay a fortune to own your car or go through the hassle of renting one. People buy pizza by the slice, download music by the song… why not pay for cars by the drive? Through a collaboration with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership we have brought 20 brand new vehicles to town - sedans, hybrids, minivans, even MINIs - and are looking to add more soon, so you’ll always have a car available when you need one.
I feel like these service are great in theory, but usually poorly implemented because of logistical difficulties. I tried something similar to this when I lived in California and it didn’t work out well…
The cars quickly got filthy since people don’t care about vehicles they don’t own themselves. People also had trouble returning cars to the right places on time, so you could end up stranded somewhere because of other people’s scheduling mishaps. And it’s really hard to figure out a fair pricing structure.
Basically, it’s a tragedy of commons. You ever try to share a car with family or friends? How’d that work out? Now imagine doing that with a bunch of random people you’ve never met.
I actually think this is great for Pittsburgh. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and currently live in Portland, OR and pretty much decided after being here three months to sell my car and not have it shipped from Pennsylvania. FlexCar has been a great service for me for the past three years. Portland is very similar to Pittsburgh in layout and design and FlexCar is everywhere. I’ve rarely had an issue with a dirty car or a scheduling issue. I could see it really doing well in the Oakland and South Side areas, but do see some issue with other neighborhoods.
Flexcar will be great for Pittsburgh for many reasons:
1- Downtown residents will now be able to sell their cars if they want and use Flexcar for all their errands and activities that would take them out of Pittsburgh.
2- Downtown workers who may commute now will have access to cars if they need to travel for business throughout the day!
3- The environmental advantages are awesome!
I am excited that Pittsburgh will have this service when cities like NYC don’t even have it yet!