Starting today, Pittsburghers will have a new transportation option.

Flexcar, a car-sharing service that allows members to rent vehicles by the hour, begins service today in Downtown and Oakland with an initial fleet of 20 fuel-efficient vehicles that includes hybrids, pickups, minivans and sporty cars.

Flexcar relies on barcode technology and the Internet. Members can reserve a car either by visiting the company's Web site, www.flexcar.com, or by using a touchtone phone. When they go to pick up the car at a designated location, waving a membership card over the windshield unlocks the doors, allowing the member to retrieve the car key from the glove compartment. At the end of the reserved time, the member returns the car to its parking spot, replacing the keys in the glove compartment and again waving the membership card over the windshield. This time, the card locks the doors and transmits billing information to the company.

The fee for the service starts at $10 per hour, which includes gas, insurance, 150 free miles per day, parking, maintenance and emergency service.

Flexcar's entry into the Pittsburgh market was championed by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership as part of its ongoing effort to help revitalize the urban core.

"Car sharing represents a significant initiative for Downtown Pittsburgh," said the Partnership's President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Edwards. "We are confident that it will enhance the overall experience of being Downtown, not just for those who work here, but for people who call this neighborhood home and want the convenience of driving without the hassles of car ownership."

The Seattle-based company, founded in 1999 by a public-private partnership, has been majority-owned since August 2005 by Revolution LLC, a Washington, D,C.-based investment firm owned by former America Online co-founder, chairman and CEO Steve Case. It also has operations in Seattle; Los Angeles; San Francisco; San Diego; Portland, Ore.; Chicago; Baltimore; Philadelphia; Atlanta; Washington and Gainesville, Fla. Members can reserve cars in any of the cities in the Flexcar network.