Does the fine fit the crime?

I’ve been clocking up the fines this month - so now I’m not only now poor, but I’m annoyed.

I didn’t validate a 2 hour ticket I’d just purchased and I was fined $167.

I returned to a parked car literally two minutes late and copped a $57 fine.

Apart from a bit of general whinging, what’s annoying about these fines is that they don’t seem “proportional” to “the crime”.

I mean, $57 for 2 minutes of parking? And I thought private car parks were steep!  

So when it comes to fines at Flexicar, I like the way they’ve been set based on proportionality.

You inconvenience another member by not returning a car on time and don’t tell us?

Well, Flexicar then has to call the member and pacify them, we need to help them make another arrangement (usually a taxi when it’s last minute), Flexicar doesn’t get the booking revenue from the next car, the member has to send us a receipt, Flexicar then pay for the taxi and have to handle the paperwork associated with this.

You start to see why the fine has been set at $75. Realistically, this could often be LESS than what the late return ends up costing Flexicar.

So here’s to a fine that matches the offence, people!

Thanks for letting me share my pain.

(And yes, yes, I now know you need to validate your ticket EVERY time you buy one or even think about getting on a passing tram!)

Kimberly the (poorer but wiser) marketing chick

Are you too dreaming of chocolate bunnies?

It’s Thursday and I’ve got chocolate and holidays on my mind, making it hard to concentrate of work!

I can report it’s much worse than the usual Friday mid-arvo fidgets – especially as members keep popping buy or calling up to book cars, heading off on their long weekends already!

But I can’t feel too sorry for myself – our new Flexicar staff member Justin will be in the Flexicar office Friday, Saturday AND Sunday, just in case you need him.

So if you’ve got a Flexicar booked this weekend, drive safely and don’t daydream too much about the goodies that may be delivered by the cotton-tailed one on Sunday.

The Flexicar team wish you all a safe and happy Easter break!

PS. Don’t forget, the first fifty members who join Flexicar this month get a tempting $10 Darrell Lea voucher.

Kimberly the marketing chick

To our Members: Thankyou for participating to the Bushfire effort

The Flexicar team would like to thank members for their donations and good work towards the fire relief effort.

Flexicar also made a donation of $500 to the Red Cross to help out and still encourages members to make donations, the Red Cross Bushfire appeal will close on Fri 17 April.

Furthermore, some members went in person to fire-affected zones, and, although we would have liked to do much more, we are happy that our service indirectly contributed to help out people in devastated zones.

Here are just a few of our members’ stories:

Member Ken C. is a fire fighter and did over 3,000 kilometres of driving in four days with Samson to bring loads of toiletry and staple products. Ken says:

“At the start Wednesday [11 Feb] I was going to go in to YEA and Whitlesea to drop my donated goods and come straight back. I had no idea I would end up with a job getting essential supplies through and later and requested supplies through all the police road blocks and between all the crisis relief centers and act as a go between all the services with their own setups and little or no communication between them”

Eden packed an entire car load of donations for Kinglake, you can read the entire story on her blog: http://community.livejournal.com/melbournemaniac/2786719.html

Flexicar member and Comedy Festival favorite Nelly Thomas went to MC a Bushfire relief concert in Yea, and had no way to get there other than Flexicar.

Once again thanks to all members for their generosity and humanity, for donating goods, money and time to this terrible catastrophe.

Greg & the Flexicar Team

Ken drove over 3,000 kms to deliver staple products to devastated communities

Volunteers unloading Eden's Flexicar