Erica Barnett, someone with car-sharing experience, writes in The Stranger that the Zipcar takeover merger with Flexcar isn't going quite as smoothly as she'd like. A big Flexcar fan, Barnett says that the more corporate feel of Zipcar has left car sharers in Seattle (Flexcar's home town) paying more for their hourly rentals and, for at least one busy weekend early in the merger, totally without access to the Zipcars. One particular sticking point for Barnett is that Honda Civic hybrids are thrown into Zipcar's "premium" category with BMWs and SUVs. Zipcar told her that cars are made premium based on how much they cost, not on how much the emit. Barnett's not the only one who's frustrated by the changes - she found many who have canceled or will soon cancel their memberships. The fact that Zipcar has yet to turn a profit is driving costs up, while also driving customers away. This could be trouble.

[Source: Erica C. Barnett / The Stranger]

At the end of October, news came that the two biggest car sharing services in the U.S., Flexcar and Zipcar, would merge (and keeping the name Zipcar). In an email update to Flexcar members the other day, Flexcar included a few more details on the merger. Let's take a look at the timeline for the switch:

The first cities to transition over to Zipcar will be San Francisco and Columbus (Ohio). If you are in one of these cities, your welcome packet and new Zipcard should be arriving within a week. In January, Washington, DC, and many of the college towns will make the switch, followed by Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, and San Diego. The final group, Atlanta and Seattle, will transition over in February.

Flexcar says (with good reason) that this merger is a benefit to members, as there will be "more markets, more vehicles, and enhanced technology" available. If you are a Flexcar member and didn't get the email shout-out, you might want to contact Zipcar/Flexcar and make sure they have your correct information on file. Times like these are when errors can happen, and it's good to be proactive and avoid them.

[Source: Flexcar]

I haven't spent a whole lot of time driving in Atlanta, but I've done enough to know that the city's highways can be a true nightmare. Wide roads that feel about 18 lanes across and all of them full of traffic. The crazy speeds some people drive there is enough to cause some folks to do "civil obedience" and drive at the 55 mph speed limit. So, for those of you near Atlanta who are sick of driving and have been wanting to give up driving a car most of the time, Flexcar and MARTA would like to speak with you.

The car-sharing service and the Atlanta area public transportation system have teamed up and are now offering almost 40 Flexcars parked at or near a dozen MARTA stations (there are about 100 Flexcars throughout Atlanta). There is also a new Flexcar driving credit available for MARTA users. If anyone in Atlanta want to chime in on the practicality of the stations where the cars are offered, that'd be nice. From the map above, there seems to be a NE bias to the Flexcar-MARTA locations. Does that work for a lot of people?

[Source: Flexcar]

There are reports that the car share companies Zipcar and Flexcar will merge. Financial terms were not disclosed but it looks like Zipcar is absorbing the smaller Flexcar. The name of the merged company, which will have more than 5,000 vehicles and 180,000 subscribers in 48 cities, will be Zipcar. The news is expected to be made official by the weekend. We will have more as the story develops.

[Source: Washington Post, Seattle Times]

Car sharing service FlexCar is teaming up with terrapass to provide their members the opportunity to be even more environmentally friendly. FlexCar members can now login on the website and buy a Green Membership for $9.95 that will offset up to 1 ton of CO2 over the next twelve months. Members who buy the green option will also be eligible for other yet-to-be-announced benefits from more partners.

[Source: FlexCar via EcoGeek]

When we get tips sent to the AutoblogGreen tipbox, we check out the details. Today we got a note from a Jon W. about Flexcar's ongoing "Friends and Family" free membership promotion. The trouble is, the only other mentions of this promotion on the 'net are two comments (one on Green Car Congress and the other on a blog called Evolwithin) by Jon W.

So, since you'd think that Flexcar would actually be promoting a promotion if it exists, I'm not quite sure what to make of this. I've sent an email to Flexcar asking about whether the details described below are accurate, but for now I'll also ask the ABG readership about it. Are you a Flexcar member? Have you read about this promotion, or taken advantage of it?

For the record, here's what Jon W tells us the promotion entails:

Free Memberships for Flexcar while our Lasts!!!

Great news, Flexcar is currently running a "Friends and Family" promotion thru July 7th. Tell your loved ones to sign-up for Flexcar and we'll waive their $35 first year membership fee.

It's as easy as 1-2-3:

1) Send them to www.Flexcar.com , click "Join Now" at the top of the page, then select "Personal" Plans.
2) Have them fill in the promotion code: ffep7FLEX
3) Have them fill in your email address in Box 17A (same as the one on your Flexcar account)

Not a member yet? No worries. Sign-up today, then refer your friends and family with the above steps. You'll receive a $7 driving credit per referral, up to $49!

Remember, more members = more Flexcars = better car locations + better rates.

Thanks for helping revolutionize the way Americans use automobiles while saving your loved ones time and money.

I can see this being a totally legit thing. I'm just looking for confirmation, that's all. It'll probably take until after the holiday here in the U.S. to get a response from the company, so stay tuned.

Related:

• FlexCar expands with hybrid car sharing in Baltimore
• Flexcar car-sharing comes to Pittsburgh
• Flexcar brings hybrid sharing to University of Florida for $5.50 an hour
• Low-car diet: top five questions about Flexcar answered

Add Pittsburgh to the list of about a dozen American cities where car-sharing from Flexcar is availble.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl drove a Flexcar onto PPG Plaza earlier this week to welcome the car-sharing company to his city. The user rules are similar to other car-sharing services, namely that vehicles are parked around downtown and Flexcar members pay about $10 an hour to use them (There is also a $35 annual membership fee, but that's waived under certain business plans, and it's waived after the first year for anyone who drives at least twice during the year). Your $10 covers gas, insurance, 150 free miles, parking, maintenance and a 24/7 emergency service. The service starts this month with 20 fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids, pickups, minivans and cars, like the MINI Cooper.

You can read all about it at the Flexcar website.

Related:

• FlexCar expands with hybrid car sharing in Baltimore

[Source: Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership]

Car sharing service Flexcar has been in operation since 2000 when they launched in Seattle, Washington and they've now expanded into their tenth US city, Baltimore, Maryland. The company is partnering with Johns Hopkins University to provide four hybrid cars that will parked around campus. Members who register get a Flexcard that they can use to unlock the car and get the keys which are kept inside the car.

Cars can be reserved online or by phone and are available for $6 an hour or $60 per day. The price includes gas, insurance and a reserved parking space. It's estimated that each shared car in service takes fifteen privately owned and operated cars off the road. The university partnership is the first stage of a further expansion of the service in the Baltimore area. Flexcar has partnerships with over 600 companies, schools and organizations in the cities where they operate, and offer a variety of different vehicle types including hybrids, SUVs, pickups, and compacts.

[Source: Flexcar via the Auto Channel]

During October, 15 individuals from around the San Francisco will give up their cars as part of a Low-Car Diet program (a diet Weblog's Sarah Gilbert went on back in July). The idea should demonstrate the ease of living in transit-friendly Bay Area. Each participant will have their car keys locked away for 30 days. They have pledged to use alternative forms of transportation, such as bicycles, busses, trolleys, ridesharing and walking. They were also given a membership to Flexcar, an program that offers on-demand access to a fleet of low-emission vehicles.

San Francisco is well-suited to such a test. There are mass-transit stops in most neighborhoods, and most amenities such as restaurants, night life and food stores are within walking distance.

Related:

• Low-car diet: too much stuff

[Source: Carbon Free]

Marketers swarm over college campuses each year trying to entice students to sample their products and form brand loyalty that will sit with them the rest of their life. Green cars enthusiasts are getting into the college market with a new program launched by Flexcar, the car-sharing program. Flexcar is the first national company to offer car-sharing for drivers under 21.

Most college students, especially those who live on-campus, are perfect candidates for sharing vehicles. Parking at most schools is terrible, most events you need to go to are within walking, biking or bus distance, and a lot of students don't have a lot of money to sink into gas and/or repairs. Sharing a car has been available to those over 21 (faculty and staff) at campuses across the country, and now all those traditional freshmen and sophomores can get into the act as well. Students must have a clean driving record, supplemental insurance, parental approval and pay a refundable deposit before joining the program.

The program will be available at six campuses (Emory University, University of Maryland, University of Portland and the Berkeley, Los Angeles and San Diego campuses of the University of California). Car-sharing at other schools is in the works, and interested schools should contact Flexcar to get involved in the future.

[Source: Flexcar via The Auto Channel]

I've been having fun experimenting with a variety of transportation alternatives in the month since I began my low car diet. I've bussed a lot, taken the light rail known locally as the "Max," even riding transport for free in "Fareless Square." My husband had made plentiful use of the bike and ride option (he sticks his bike on the front rack on the bus before work, then rides home late at night when the schedules are inconvenient or nonexistent). We've done the Flexcar thing, and I've biked a ton.

But the easiest option, by far, is simply to walk. I walk to the grocery store with the boys and fill the bottom of my sturdy jogging stroller with canned goods, milk, wine, veggies, bread, juice, and goodies of all kinds. I walk to the neighborhood coffee shop when I need to get away from the house and jump on their free WiFi. I walk to the high school track in our neighborhood to do intervals and let my four-year-old play in the sand. I walk to the knitting cafe for companionship and a yarn fix.

Biking and bussing may be faster, and the Flexcar? It's super cool. But walking is its own reward and it's just so much easier! No helmets, no car seats, no locks or reservations. Just throw the little one in the stroller (he can even climb in himself!), throw my gear in the cargo hold and away we go. Best of all: it's utterly, completely, in every way, free.

Late last week, my family hopped on the bus to meet up with representatives from Flexcar, who planned to "orient" us on how we would soon choose biking, walking, bussing and (most importantly) using the Flexcar carshare service over our own car.

I've long admired the Flexcar vehicles from afar. They're parked in their own special spaces "reserved for carshare vehicles" with pretty iconic posts, near bus stops and with space for locking your bike. But signing up for the service seemed a Herculean task, fraught with so many questions and the most monstrous hurdle of all: a membership fee. Yikes!

A chance to use the Flexcar service for free, without any upfront investment, was a big reason why I said "yes" to the concept of the low car diet. But I was also eager to get my questions answered. We sat in a darkened room in a government building downtown. Everyone had nametags and pizza. And everyone was getting their questions answered.

It was paradise. And I'm sharing the questions (and their answers) with you:

It's hard to know which metaphor to choose: the 12-step program? The diet? The new religion? Whatever the ontology I select, it's clear my family has had a problem with our automobile (a once-beloved 2000 Mercedes ML320, a diminutive monster of a car). My husband has been known to drive three blocks to the grocery store, or two blocks to his sister's apartment. I've been known to spend hours and gallons of gas bouncing from one end of town to the other in search of the perfect cupcake.

We've been chatting about changing our ways for a while, and every once in a while I would insist that we must walk to Trader Joe's, or promise myself I was going to take the bus to my boy's well-baby visits - it's ridiculous not to, as we'd get on the bus a few steps from our front door and get off a few steps from the receptionist's desk 15 minutes later. And every time, I'd be late or unable to find the correct change or lazy. And we'd revert to our SUV abuse.

One day a few weeks ago, we got a flat tire. And that pretty much sealed our fate. We didn't have the $500 to replace all the tires, and for a few days we tried to avoid across-town trips. But finally we had to make a decision: were we going to do this? As we were hemming and hawing, a friend who'd gone to work for Flexcar asked if we'd consider handing over our keys for a month as part of a low-car diet she was promoting. For the month of July, we'd get a bunch of goodies, notably a Flexcar membership. And suddenly, we had committed to a radically different lifestyle.