Philadelphia will trim its municipal fleet by roughly 400 vehicles and will rely instead on a local car-share service for some on-the-job transportation, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper on April 6. As part of its citywide Fleet Reduction Project, the administration of Mayor John Street announced yesterday that it is taking further steps to significantly reduce the number of vehicles it provides to city employees, according to the Daily Pennsylvanian newspaper, also on April 6. The city has announced a partnership with PhillyCarShare, which offers access to shared cars leased by the hour. The city will pay $3.90 an hour plus 39 cents a mile, said Tanya Seaman, PhillyCarShare executive director. The switch is part of the cash-strapped city's effort to save $650,000. The city also hopes to make some money by auctioning vehicles from its fleet and it will save on fuel and maintenance costs. Phase one of the program has already commenced, with 50 city vehicles recently eliminated and auctioned to the public. "The concrete results of the project will be a smaller, more efficient and effective fleet," City Managing Director Phil Goldsmith said in a city press release. "Take-home vehicles, administrative sedans and SUVs and underutilized operational vehicles are being taken out of the fleet." PhillyCarShare's gas-electric hybrid cars are stored at 17 sites in Center City and University City. Customers — including the city — reserve them via phone or Internet and have 24-hour access to them.