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(One member, Josh Bis, reported that after he called Zipcar to ask about a late card, the company sent him three Zipcards in the mail.)Īfter the temporary inconvenience was over, more fundamental differences between Zipcar and Flexcar emerged. Zipcar spokeswoman Kristina Kennedy acknowledges the transition could be "frustrating and confusing," but says most calls were answered within 30 seconds.Įven after the transition, many Seattle members reported that they had not yet received their "Zipcards," the electronic cards that open Zipcar vehicles. People who contacted Zipcar for help reported reaching operators who often had little or no idea what was going on. Flexcar members who tried to access Zipcars over a recent three-day weekend discovered that Zipcar had completely shut down its service-leaving thousands of new Zipcar members without transportation on one of the busiest weekends of the year. The merger came as two of the biggest rental-car companies, Hertz and Enterprise, announced plans to start renting cars by the hour-a business model that threatened to cut into car-sharing companies' customer base.įor Seattle members, the first days of the Zipcar transition were bumpy, at best. So far, neither company has turned a profit. cities-including 20,000 former Flexcar members in Seattle. The combined company has a total of 180,000 members sharing around 5,000 cars in about 50 U.S. Last October, Flexcar announced it was merging with its largest competitor, Cambridge, Massachusetts–based Zipcar. When the state Department of Revenue determined Flexcar members would have to pay state and local rental-car taxes, it was two Seattle officials, Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles and City Council Member Jan Drago, who took on Flexcar's cause. In addition to discounts at local businesses, Flexcar offered reduced rates for PCC members, a carbon-offsetting program through Terrapass, and incentives through the city's One Less Car program for people who gave up their cars. Most of all, though, I loved the fact that belonging to Flexcar felt like being part of a community-a community of people who filled the gas tanks for each other (bonus: a $2 usage credit), kept the cars clean (a $4 credit), and recruited new members ($40).įlexcar, which was founded in Seattle through a partnership with King County and the City of Seattle, sold majority control in 2005 to a team of investors led by AOL cofounder Steve Case for more than $10 million. I loved their willingness to bend the rules-like the 15-minute "grace period" they would give members who were running late, as long as no one else was waiting. I loved the discount rates for co-op members, low-income job hunters, and students. I loved their uncannily helpful customer-service representatives, who were always friendly, helpful, and polite.