Kitchener/Waterloo – Hamilton, March 27 – Communauto, the first carsharing company in Canada, and VRTUCAR, its subsidiary in Ottawa and Kingston, announces today that the purchase of Community CarShare co-operative’s assets has been completed, assuring their members that carsharing will survive and thrive in southwestern Ontario.
“VRTUCAR is committed to ensuring continuity of excellent service while also investing in future development” says Wilson Wood, founder and president of VRTUCAR, in a letter sent to all members of Community CarShare.
One of the first advantages will be the access to Communauto services in 7 other cities in Ontario (Kingston and Ottawa), Quebec (Gatineau, Montreal, Sherbooke and Quebec City) and Nova Scotia (Halifax).
Another exciting change coming soon is a new, lower price structure that will see a reduction in the cost of carsharing.
As an example, members under the “Occasional” plan would pay $16.50 for a 1,5-hour, 15 kilometres trip. Under VRTUCAR’s price structure and it’s most popular “Value” plan, the same trip would cost $11.78 to a Community CarShare member, a 29% saving, or $11.25 with the Open plan, no monthly fee.
Existing members will be able to enjoy VRTUCAR’s best rates without a requirement to pay a refundable deposit, as their current deposit status and plans will be “grandfathered”.
A third innovation will be to improve the user experience through new technology as the introduction of a mobile app for locating and reserving cars.
Communauto group plan to increase the number of cars and stations and potentially introduce new services, as soon the conditions for a sustainable operation are met.
“Communauto and VRTUCAR are very proud of their social, environmental and urban values as well as of their mission: being an alternative to private automobile ownership. The same goal of the original founders of Community CarShare. Nevertheless, making carsharing economically sustainable in South Ontario is essential in order to give it the resources to increase and develop. To achieve this objective, we will put all our efforts and we hope to count on the support of all cities we serve” says Benoit Robert, founder and president of Communauto.
About VRTUCAR and Communauto Group
VRTUCAR is an Ontario carsharing company based in Ottawa and Kingston. Established in Ottawa in 2000 by local environmentalists and entrepreneurs, the service has grown into a reliable transportation network, 140 shared cars (40 % Hybrid or EV) located in Ottawa and Kingston. In 2016, VRTUCAR merged with Communauto, the oldest carsharing service in North America and the one serving the largest number of communities in Canada. The social and environmental driven company founded in 1994 provides a fleet of more than 2,000 vehicles in 11 cities in Canada (Waterloo Region, Hamilton, London, Guelph, Kingston, Ottawa, Gatineau, Montréal/Laval/ Longueuil, Quebec City/Lévis, Sherbrooke, Halifax) and in Paris, France. Communauto group offers both round-trip and free-floating carsharing.
– 30 –
Source:
Marco Viviani,
Vice-president, strategic development
1 514 499-2956
mviviani@communauto.ca