Dear Slugs:

I am thrilled to announce an exciting opportunity for all Slugs, and a wonderful new partnership for Slug-Lines.com. Effective August 1, Slug-Lines.com is partnering with Flexcar, the nation’s premier car sharing program, to address two of the possible weaknesses of slugging: what if I need a car during the day, and how do I get home if I work late?

For a lifetime membership fee of $20 (a $5 discount for Slugs!), Flexcar members get hourly access to a fleet of cars parked at or near Metro stations throughout the region.  Use of the cars averages $7 an hour, and includes gas, insurance, and parking.  Take a Flexcar home at night, or use it for mid-day errands—either way, it’s a perfect complement to Slugging!

Each and every Slug should take advantage of this wonderful opportunity and become a member of Flexcar.  Read on below and discover why Flexcar and Slugs are a perfect match, and how easy it is to become a Flexcar member!  Then, to join Flexcar, see www.flexcar.com.

Thanks for your time, and keep on Slugging!

David LeBlanc, Founder
www.slug-lines.com

Flexcar Partnership Benefits Slugs! 

In most cases, Slugs do not need a car while at work.  On the other hand, access to a car can be essential if you want to:

• Go to an off-site work-related meeting

• Pick up a sick child from school or daycare

• Run an unexpected errand

• Get home from work after normal slugging hours

By joining Flexcar, you can continue to Slug into work, but you will also be able to accomplish these tasks inexpensively and with ease.

This page is intended as a guide on how to register, use, and benefit from this new partnership. 

1. Discounted membership for Slugs. Slugs receive a $5 discount off the one time $25 lifetime membership fee. The one-time $20 fee is just that - one time. You never have to pay any other annual fees to remain a member of the Flexcar program. So, for the cost of a few cappuccinos at a coffee shop, you will have lifetime access to a fleet of cars located throughout the metro area.  Even if you never use the cars, a $20 lifetime membership to Flexcar is certainly an inexpensive insurance policy!
   
2. Don’t be a stranded Slug! Flexcar is the perfect “guaranteed ride home” if you work too late to slug home.   Whenever I worked late, I only had two choices: spend the night at the office, or have the spouse wake up the kids, load them in the car, and come get me. I've done both and neither is very pleasant. One of the most Slug-friendly aspects of Flexcar’s pricing is that they charge NO hourly charges from 11PM to 7AM.  So, if you were to take a Flexcar home at 9PM and return it at 8AM the next morning (hopefully picking up two Slugs on the way in), you will only pay for three hours of usage.
   
3. Have a car in the city, without the hassle of getting it there.  Slug into the city as you always would, but if you need to go to a non Metro accessible meeting, if you need to run a mid-day errand, or if your child suddenly falls ill, you will have a Flexcar at your disposal. Flexcar can be your “city car”—you will have the benefit of using a car while “in town,” but you can avoid the inconvenience of getting it there in the first place (after all, that’s why there is slugging!). 
   
4. Members can switch back and forth between plans at anytime. For example, the average Slug will likely spend most months in the Test Drive plan (no monthly charges if the member doesn’t use the cars).  However, if a Slug then uses a Flexcar to run a five-hour emergency errand, s/he may choose to move into the Advantage 5 plan (five hours for $35) just for that one month, prior to moving back into the Test Drive plan. 

Membership with Flexcar normally costs $25, but through our partnership, Slugs will receive a $20 lifetime rate (use the promo code “SLUG” on Flexcar’s website to get this discount).  Once approved as a lifetime member, Flexcar users can pay in one of two ways.  Infrequent users can opt for the Test Drive Plan, which costs $3.50 an hour plus $0.90 a mile.  More frequent users can select among several Advantage Plans, which provide a certain number of hours and miles a month for a fixed rate.  For instance, five hours and fifty miles per month costs just $35, and ten hours and one hundred miles costs just $65 a month.  In general, the cost for Flexcar usage averages $7 an hour.  Flexcar members are never “locked into” a plan—you can change as often as you want, even retroactively, up until the last business day of each month.

And remember—all Flexcar rates include gas, insurance, and a guaranteed parking space when you are done using the car. 

It's Easy! Just go to www.flexcar.com/washingtondc/specials_sluglines.asp for more details. All you'll need is your basic drivers license and credit/debit/check card information. Be sure to enter the Promo Code “SLUG” in order to receive your $5 membership discount.  Within a few days, you'll receive your membership kit in the mail and you will be ready to go.

Car sharing is similar to car rental; the except that an individual can use the carsharing vehicle for as short a time period as a half hour, and that the cars are located in the communities throughout the region rather than at a centralized main office.

Car sharing began in Switzerland in the 1980's and has expanded throughout Europe to include 450 cities. The concept is relatively new to the U.S., but car sharing organizations are now in Seattle, Chicago, Portland, Long Beach, Boston, and New York.  Flexcar™, the oldest and largest car sharing company in America, is a Seattle-based company with 5,500 members in Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; Long Beach and Palo Alto, CA; and in the Washington metropolitan area.

Flexcar came to Washington as an official partner of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), as part of a unique public/private alliance.  One exciting result of this partnership is that in the coming months, Flexcar will be  moving to a “smart card” system that will make use of  Metro’s existing “SmarTrip” card.  So, with only one card in your wallet, you will be able to move seamlessly from rail to bus to Flexcar.

There are several financial, environmental, and social benefits provided by using Flexcar, among them:

1. Car sharing reduces car usage of individuals by as much as 50%. With carsharing, individuals pay for using the car each time they drive, so they tend to combine errands and drive less than they would in a personal car.
   
2. Each car sharing vehicle replaces four to eight privately owned cars. In some cases people who begin carsharing, sell their old car and/or avoid buying a new car. With fewer vehicles owned per capita, parking demand decreases.
   
3. Individuals who car share tend to more heavily use transit and other alternative modes of transportation. This leads to less congested roadways and higher transit ridership.
   
4. Carsharing improves air quality. Fewer greenhouse gas emissions and particulates are emitted due to the fewer vehicle miles traveled and less congestion.
   
5. Car ownership is expensive and car sharing allows individuals to save money while meeting their transportation needs. The American Automobile Association states that individuals driving 5,000 miles per year pay about $4,750 annually for their car. This amount includes car payments, gas, maintenance, parking, taxes, etc.  Depending on how often you need access to a car, Flexcar can be a much cheaper alternative without sacrificing convenience!
   
6. Car sharing provides non-car owners with an emergency vehicle and existing car owners with a different vehicle type (a van or truck for more capacity, a compact car for less).