Alright, I'm new to Winnipeg. Why is there no car-sharing group here (that I can find)? Would there be interest in putting one together? The only real mention I can find is in a 1999 exploratory document called "A Car-Sharing Co-operative in Winnipeg", available at www.usaskstudies.coop/pdf-files/Car%20Share%20Co-op.pdf - and nothing since.
I'm in Wolseley. But I'm thinking along the lines of such car-share groups that exist in the other Canadian cities - and some smaller ones too. Would there be interest in such a thing here... what sorts of hurdles?
Something like Zipcar. That's a corporate organization; in places like Victoria or Edmonton, it's co-operative style. I'm finding car-share organizations in places like Kitchener-Waterloo, Kingston ON, even Nelson BC: not near the size of Winnipeg.
I'm thinking tho, that it may have more to do with attitudes than anything else? This city seems very auto-centric... then again, if Calgary and Edmonton have car-shares, I figure the issue can be overcome.
Zipcar seems to be similiar to a car rental company in concept. I really don't see a problem with MPI. The co-op would own the rental company and insure the cars under the company. Neat idea.
I know someone who was interested in car sharing in the Osbourne Village area. If you're in that area let me know and I'll pass along your info to her.
We (my husband and I) were members of C.A.N. in Vancouver for many years and loved it - we saved thousands and thousands of dollars over owning a vehicle. Plus if we had company in town we could book a 7 passenger van to go on a road trip, it was great. They didn't have full sized trucks but they did have the Mazda B3000 (or was it 2000? I forget) which were great for moving smaller pieces of furniture etc.
[quote][cite] hukl_berry:[/cite]I'm thinking tho, that it may have more to do with attitudes than anything else? This city seems very auto-centric....[/quote]
You got it! Check out the rapid transit thread to see exactly how car-centric Winnipeg is, unfortunately.
I've spent these past years in Calgary and Edmonton, and have seen development of car- sharing in both of these centres: they're similarly car-happy as Winnipeg, yet perhaps not as solidly rooted in co-operative organizations. That's why I'm wondering if there's any underlying reasons that I'm missing, because although considered here at one point (in the 1999 exploratory report), I can't find that it was ever pursued.
There's a certain base level of public interest necessary: which I agree, is more available in the denser, central areas of the city, where the organization would have to start out.
I'm living in Edmonton myself, but have never heard of such a program. It sounds interesting though, especially if you are a post secondary student on a low budget.
[quote][cite] anonymous:[/cite]I'm living in Edmonton myself, but have never heard of such a program. It sounds interesting though, especially if you are a post secondary student on a low budget.[/quote]
Hmm... good point, looks like Edmonton's is quite small: it's found at www.web.ca/~cce/ - with only one car. Calgary's group is larger tho, some seven vehicles. OK, but Ottawa has some 31 vehicles going there!
Or any other opportunity for car-sharing. I'd shed my car in a second.[/quote]
I don't "get it" with the Zipcar thing. $57.50 a day to rent a car in Toronto? Why not just lease a new Hyundai for $200/month + $120/month MPIC. For the cost of 6 Zipcar rentals in a month you could have your own vehicle at your disposal anytime you need it. Heck even renting a car from Enterprise on the weekend is only $50 (assuming your credit card covers you for rental insurance) and that's Fri-Mon....3 days not 1. Even their regular economy car rate is cheaper at $28/day.
What exactly would be the advantage of using a service like Zipcar other than paying too much?
[quote][cite] grumpyrom:[/cite]What exactly would be the advantage of using a service like Zipcar other than paying too much?[/quote]
I know someone in DC who uses Zipcar and has nothing but good things to say about them. And maybe I don't want to own a vehicle, since I don't use mine that often? Or maybe the flexibility they offer is far more appealing than having to truck over to Enterprise and renting whatever they have left on their lot?
And why would I ever want to lock into a car lease when car-sharing fits my lifestyle much better? Not all of us actually want to have a car depreciating in our garages and draining our wallets. I have one now, but would be happy to get rid of it if I had a flexible car-sharing option like this.
Holy CRAP zipcars rates are extremely high! Why is this? Are they a for profit company? If we weren't going to be moving around the country so much I would seriously look into the feasibility of a zipcar local in Winnipeg.
I forgot to mention Victoria BC also has a small co-op, and there are some cars available in Nanaimo, Courtney and some of the gulf islands. Plus a lot of car co-ops have agreements with other co-ops, for instance if you're in a co-op in Vancouver you can use the cars in NYC.
Wow - Zipcar rates do seem quite high, and I'm not certain how they would compete with rental agencies - on a per-day basis, that is, since it'd still make sense for use of a few hours, and the cars are distributed for neighborhood access.
A quick look-around shows a high level of variability in rate models, between different organizations: Zipcar for instance, charges these high rates, but then they don't have much of a joining fee. Guess it's their particular corporate model (they're quite large it looks like, and multinational to boot!) Other places with co-op style setups, seem to be charging $500-600 for refundable deposit or shares, but with fees that seem much more reasonable for this type of use.
This is exactly the right approach to alleviating commuting issues. Instead of pouring millions into new roads or dreaming up subway scenarios, the city should be actively promoting ride sharing and also implement a web-based approach where connections can be made.