The Story

Student Chamber of Commerce Pushes for Campus FlexCar Option

Nov. 17, 2007 | By Jonna Knappenberger, DSJ News Editor

Students on the William and Mary Student Chamber of Commerce (SCC) are pushing the administration to make a deal with Flexcar, a company that rents vehicles on an hourly basis. College administrators allow that the idea has merit but cite on-going price agreement difficulties with Flexcar, effectively tabling the car-sharing discussion.

Co-founder of the SCC, Brett Phillips (’08), says that Flexcar is a “no-brainer” fit for the College. “I think it’ll be heavily utilized, and if demand exceeds the cars that we do get, we’ll get additional cars.”

Phillips predicts that the fee for car use would be around $5-6 per hour per student; he estimates a Flexcar contract with the College would require $28.8 thousand for 6 cars over a span of 3 years. Optimal places for cars would be at the Zable parking lot, on Jamestown Road and near the Dupont and Yates dorms.

Car-sharing on campus would be notable for its policy of allowing drivers under the age of 21 to rent cars. Additionally, the vehicles would be hybrids, Phillips says, “incorporating environmental sustainability that we love.”

But the process so far has not been smooth. Phillips remarks, “We were the first university to approach Flexcar. After we did, they put out a huge college push, and since then 20-25 colleges have gotten the program. That’s a criticism of us.”

Phillips explained that the SCC is one part of three-way communications, involving the College and Flexcar company. The SCC push for the program, which began over the summer, has seemed to stall at College administrators.

“[The administration] has been responsibly concerned about certain operational aspects. They’re asking the right questions,” Phillips said, adding, “We finally think everything’s in place…All operational questions the College had have been answered. What has to happen now is the pen to the paper. But there are so many factors.”

Sam Sadler, Vice President for Student Affairs, says that despite the SCC’s gusto, there are still issues that would need to be worked out between the College and the company.

“One of the dilemmas that we face when we received information from Flexcar was that it’s very unclear in the language they use about exactly the level of financial commitment of the institution,” Sadler said. “We haven’t been able to move forward without clear info on that.”

According to Sadler, the dilemmas include the question of who exactly would be responsible for maintaining the cars - the College or the company? “You don’t enter a contract until those sorts of things are really nailed down,” he said.

The College has asked Flexcar to send a new proposal that would be their “best offer,” but Sadler indicates that such a proposal has yet to arrive.

“I know other schools who have done this - we’ve talked with some. But this is very, very new on Virginia campuses…We would be the smallest campus that they would ever have worked with,” Sadler said.

Indeed, a number of colleges nationwide have already signed contracts with Flexcar. The only university in Virginia to do so is Old Dominion University, in Norfolk. In these arrangements, the company provides the institution with a relatively efficient means of transportation. In August of 2006, Flexcar started a pilot program to offer services to students under 21 years old, a striking move when most of its competitors in the market strictly rent only to older customers.

Flexcar CEO Mark Norman said in a 2006 press release, “Flexcar is perfect for today’s college students… [It] makes getting a car on campus easy and frees up hard-earned money for tuition or entertainment.”

The company recently made headlines with its merger with Zipcar at the end of October. They will now operate under the Zipcar brand and have headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Zipcar currently operates in nine American cities including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. Flexcar operates in 15 cities across the U.S.

According to their website, the company prides itself on allowing members to “reserve and drive the cars whenever and wherever they need to, without filling out complicated paperwork or paying for insurance, gas or repairs.” On college campuses, they say their services “address parking and mobility issues for faculty, staff and students.”

The Student Chamber of Commerce was founded in January 2007 by students who want to build a rapport among students and community businesses. It consists of 25 student members who meet regularly and divide into committees for projects. They hosted an event called Late Night on Prince George Street in October, afterwards estimating a turn-out of over 600 people.

Brett Phillips says the SCC has been welcomed whole-heartedly by Williamsburg business-owners. “If you’re a business, the SCC makes perfect sense because there are 7,000 students here. Why turn down access? They love it. It’s a focal point to talk about students.”

Sam Sadler also offers the SCC praise for their efforts around campus. “They’ve been at this [Flexcar project] for several months. They’ve been patient. They’ve worked tirelessly to explore it because they think it’s something that would benefit the students,” he said. “Everything they’ve touched this year has been really well-done.”