Michael Woo Takes the Wheel at Flexcar

    LOS ANGELES--Nov. 13, 2002--Flexcar, the nation's oldest and largest car-sharing company today named Michael Woo, former Los Angeles City Councilmember, mayoral candidate and Presidential Appointee as general manager of the Flexcar's Los Angeles regional office.
    Woo has more than 25 years of experience in transportation, affordable housing, and public policy. He was the first trained urban planner and the first Asian American to be elected to the Los Angeles City Council, where he served for eight years. Woo chaired the City Council's Transportation and Traffic Committee, and was directly involved in key decisions about station locations and routing of the MetroRail Red Line system. He gave up his Council seat in 1993 to run for Mayor of Los Angeles, surpassing 22 other candidates to reach second-place with 46 percent of the citywide vote.
    Woo held a fellowship at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and subsequently taught courses at USC, UCLA, and Caltech. President Clinton appointed him Western States Director of the Corporation for National Service, the federal agency which runs the AmeriCorps*VISTA national service program.
    "Michael's deep understanding of transportation and urban planning suit him perfectly for his role with Flexcar," said Neil Peterson, Flexcar's president and CEO. "I'm confident he will make our Los Angeles Region an overwhelming success."
    "Flexcar is one of the most innovative companies I've come across in the past decade," said Woo. "It's rare to find a company that has an exciting product that also has a tremendous positive benefit to the community and the environment. I'm looking forward to making an impact in the Los Angeles area."
    Flexcar's innovative program provides members with access to a fleet of environmentally friendly vehicles, including gas-electric hybrids and electric cars, located throughout selected metropolitan areas. Members reserve the vehicles for hourly use with Flexcar covering the cost of the car, gas, parking, insurance and maintenance. Members access the cars via a specially coded Smartcard, and pay hourly or monthly for use of the vehicles. Flexcar does not require security deposits or dues to participate in its program.
    Flexcar's Los Angeles office phone number is 213/482-FLEX (3539) and its email address is info_losangeles@flexcar.com. People interested in becoming members of Flexcar can join online by visiting the company's Website at www.flexcar.com.
    Following a successful European model, Flexcar launched its Seattle operations in 2000, and has since won numerous awards and commendations for its program that reduces congestion, air pollution and energy use, while increasing use of public transportation and contributing to sustainable communities. Used in conjunction with public transit, car/vanpools and walking/biking, car-sharing helps individuals meet their transportation needs in an economic and environmentally responsible manner, giving them the freedom of car ownership without the associated cost and hassles.

    Flexcar

    Headquartered in Seattle, Flexcar now operates car-sharing programs for more than 7,500 members in more than a dozen cities and counties in 5 states and the District of Columbia. With flexible pricing plans, members can reserve and drive any of these cars whenever and wherever they need to, without filling out complicated paperwork, paying for insurance, gas or repairs. Flexcar Business Memberships enable companies to augment or replace their fleet with Flexcar vehicles. Flexcar's modern fleet includes sedans, gas-electric hybrids, electric cars and specialty vehicles including pickups and convertibles. Flexcar has established strategic partnerships with King County (Wash.) Metro Transit, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Parsons Transportation Group and American Honda Motor Company, Inc.

    Editor's Note: Correct spelling and punctuation is "Flexcar"; not FlexCar, Flex Car or Flexicar.