Presidential Perspectives

Don’t you wish you had a car you could use whenever you wanted but didn’t have to worry about it the rest of the time?

This year, we’ve spent a lot of time looking into car-sharing programs, and we finally have a winner: Flexcar. Flexcar is a car-sharing company that is leading the industry and is coming to our campus. They offer all the same benefits, protections, and safeguards as other car-sharing programs with the added bonus of allowing anyone over 18 years old to rent cars. This plan meets the needs of college students perfectly. Plus, using Flexcar is affordable.

What is “car-sharing?”
Flexcar’s car-sharing program allows communities to share the benefits and costs a similar amount so that resources are maximized. A variety of vehicles may be rented by the hour, by the day, or for several days at a time. There are locations all over the city where the car may be dropped off or picked up.

What are the costs?
Flexcar requires a one-time membership fee of $35 and costs about that amount per year to stay an active member. The rate for renting a car is between $8 and $10 an hour. Gas, insurance, mileage, on-call assistance, maintenance, and professional cleaning are all covered.

What are the benefits?
If you can’t afford a car of your own, or don’t need one year-round, Flexcar means you’ll have access to a car whenever you need it. Students will no longer need to worry about leaving their cars in Schenley or arranging to use someone’s driveway. Flexcar gives students access to affordable vehicles 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

FlexCar offers multiple models from small passenger cars to larger SUVs. Flexcar can be used by faculty, staff, and groups and could eliminate the need for departmental vehicles and make it much easier for student groups to take trips. It would allow our peers greater ability to engage in the Pittsburgh community. Car-sharing could free up parking spaces. It also means fewer cars per person, which is great for the environment.

We are glad to be able to partner with Flexcar and the Pittsburgh community to find a better way of meeting all of our transportation needs.

For further updates on Flexcar, and the other results you will see from us this semester, visit www.karlandrea.com.