Vancouver Housing Authority Selects Flexcar for Staff Mobility Needs; Hybrid Car Will Be Available for Public Use During Non-Business Hours.Business Editors VANCOUVER, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 25, 2003 Flexcar, the nation's largest car-sharing company, the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Housing Authority (VHA VHA Veterans Health Administration VHA Variable Housing Allowance VHA Villages Homeowners Association VHA Voluntary Hospitals Association VHA Virtual Home Agent VHA Very High Altitude VHA Vapor Hazard Area VHA Vermont Holstein-Friesian Association ) have partnered to increase mobility options for VHA staff as well as residents in Vancouver's Uptown neighborhood. Flexcar has placed a vehicle at VHA headquarters (near 24th and Main Streets) that is available for use by VHA staff during business hours BUSINESS HOURS. The time of the day during which business is transacted. In respect to the time of presentment and demand of bills and notes, business hours generally range through the whole day down to the hours of rest in the evening, except when the paper is payable it a bank or by a and other Flexcar members the remainder of the day. As part of a sustainable transportation incentive package, the City's GreenFleet program provides the VHA staff with a hybrid Toyota Prius The Toyota Prius is a hybrid electric vehicle developed and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation, and one of the first such vehicles to be mass-produced and marketed. The Prius first went on sale in Japan in 1997, and worldwide in 2001. , access to on-demand C-TRAN bus tickets and a fleet bicycle. "By partnering with Flexcar and GreenFleet we were able to provide additional community benefit," said Alice Porter, VHA Director of Housing Management. "Employees who need a car occasionally will now have that option, while carpooling or taking public transportation to work, and the vehicle can be used by area residents as an alternative to owning and maintaining a car." The goal of the City of Vancouver's GreenFleet program is to provide affordable and environmentally friendly Environmentally friendly, also referred to as nature friendly, is a term used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal harm on the environment.[1] transportation options for Vancouver's citizens and employers. As part of the City's efforts, GreenFleet partnered with Flexcar in the Vancouver market in 2001 to launch a fleet of super ultra-low emission vehicles, so that more drivers could use this technology. An agency's adoption of green vehicle technology pays off in many ways, with VHA's staff use of a hybrid sedan they will save 4.2 tons of greenhouse gas greenhouse gas n. Any of the atmospheric gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect. greenhouse gas emissions (57% less) and $776 dollars in gasoline (62% less) during one year of driving. "What most drivers do not understand is that their annual tail pipe emissions typically weigh more than four times their car's actual weight," said Todd Boulanger, manager of the City's GreenFleet program. "For example, VHA's old pool car emitted over 7.4 tons for an average year, but the car only weights 1.6 tons." Flexcar's Vancouver fleet is part of a nationwide service for more than 16,000 members in five major metro areas, including Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , San Diego and Washington, D.C. Flexcar places fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly cars, trucks and minivans across a region. Flexcar members reserve the vehicles for hourly use with Flexcar covering the cost of the car, gas, parking, insurance, and maintenance. Paying by the hour, members can enjoy the freedom of car ownership without the hassles and costs. More information about the mobility benefits offered in Vancouver is available at http://www.flexcar.com/portland/specials_vancouver.asp?rc=0 The Vancouver Housing Authority provides safe, decent, affordable homes for more than 3,200 elderly, disabled, and family households through federally subsidized housing and private market rental assistance. The VHA also owns over 1,600 units of lasting, high-quality workforce housing, which provides net revenue and a long-term investment that reduces the VHA's dependence on federal funding sources. For more information visit www.vhausa.com. The City of Vancouver's GreenFleet program is one of 10 programs funded nationally in 2001 by the EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. through the Clean Air Transportation Community grants program - the goals of which are to spur local innovations to lower vehicle emissions and vehicle miles traveled. Flexcar, headquartered in Seattle, now operates car-sharing programs for more than 16,000 members in more than a dozen cities and counties in 5 states and the District of Columbia District of Columbia, federal district (2000 pop. 572,059, a 5.7% decrease in population since the 1990 census), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), on the east bank of the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States). . 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 maintenance. 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 the Washington Metropolitan Area The Washington Metropolitan Area, formally known as the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA is a U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as of November 2004. Transit Authority (WMATA WMATA Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ), King County (Wash.) Metro Transit, Parsons Transportation Group, American Honda Motor Company, Inc. and Bristol Bay Native Corporation Bristol Bay Native Corporation, or BBNC, is one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of aboriginal land claims. . Editor's Note: Correct spelling and punctuation is "Flexcar"; not FlexCar, Flex Car or Flexicar. |
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