News and Features
Vancouver's Best Car Sharing Company
By John Burns published May 1, 2012
I’ve seen the future of urban transportation. May I share it with you?
Traffic’s heavy in Gastown, and I’m meant to be on the North Shore in half an hour. Looks bad, and this 2008 Toyota Matrix isn’t helping: it is, put generously, sluggish in the 0-to-60 department. I own a tiny fraction of this Matrix; it’s one of 250 or so automobiles in the Modo car co-op, to which I’ve belonged since 2010. For me, owning a little bit of a lot of cars is better than owning all of a single one. And the number of people like me is mushrooming: the co-op started (as the Vancouver Co-operative Auto Network) with 16 members; 15 years later, it’s at 8,000. At a recent SFU round table Phil Baudin, Modo’s executive director, explained that this surge in popularity is due to four things: rising gas prices, increased parking costs, growing concern over vehicles’ environmental footprint (sharing cars dramatically reduces use), and the ease brought to transactions by the Internet and mobile telephony.
Booking the Toyota was simple. I logged onto Modo.coop. A Google map showed me every car in the area available during my desired slot. I chose the Matrix over a 2010 Nissan and a 2007 Hyundai not for economy (all rentals cost the same) but ease—when I return the car to its EasyPark home later, the bar where I’m meeting friends is only a block away. At my scheduled time, I found the Toyota, opened it with my keychain fob, and off I went.
At 9 p.m., I’ll return the car to its berth, note the mileage (to corroborate the system’s remote monitoring and generate a receipt), and head for the bar. Every month, a digital bill in my inbox summarizes charges. The four hours to North Van and back will cost $21.40 ($3 per hour, plus 40 cents a kilometre)—which seems a fair bit, until you consider that gas, insurance, and parking in any resident zone are included; there’s no maintenance or repairs; and when the car’s safely home I walk away. (I do continue to own 1/8,000th of it.)
| | No. of | Fees (basic | Partner agencies (outside Vancouver) | Member benefits | Speed bumps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Modo | 256 |
$50 a year ($20 to join). $7.50 per hour
| Canada: Fernie, Halifax, Kaslo, Nelson, Revelstoke, Smithers, Toronto, Victoria; U.S.: Denver, Ithaca NY, Minneapolis, Madison WI, San Francisco; Australia: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney | Discounts on city community centres, YMCAs, TransLink passes, Thrifty/Enterprise car rentals, and travel insurance | The fleet is updated (and cleaned) sporadically; your 2005 minivan may be musty |
Zipcar  | 103 | $65 a year ($25 to join). $7.75 to $13.25 per hour | Canada: Toronto; U.S.: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence RI, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC; England: Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford, London | Discounts at Coal Harbour Café, Burrard Bridge Bar, and other restaurants, Lindt Maître Chocolates, SPUD home delivery, Steve Nash gyms, and Via Rail | You’re going to walk farther to reach a pickup spot, and pay more when you get there |
Car2Go | 325 | $2 a year ($35 to join). $13 per hour | U.S.: Austin, Portland, San Diego, Washington DC; Europe: Amsterdam, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Lyon, Ulm (Germany), Vienna. Note: No reciprocal agreements | None extra | Smart cars lack storage space. And you must leave them north of 49th Avenue |
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Clarification: Zipcar GM Mark Pribula is quoted saying "I don't want people in my ride." He's paraphrasing an attitude common among single-car users: that they don't want to share their vehicle with others. This "I don't want people in my ride" attitude is one that he -- and the other car-sharing companies -- want to change.
