Car sharing

How often do you use your car? Seriously, how often?

Suppose you live in a central neighborhood and for day-to-day activities, like commuting to and from work and picking up groceries, you don’t need to drive. You’ve picked where you live based on your lifestyle and that lifestyle doesn’t really include owning a car.

Plus, the typical downtown dweller has less access to parking than your average suburbanite, making owning a vehicle more of a hassle than a convenience. So it’s not surprising that many people just want access to a car for occasional excursions – a weekend trip, or across town to visit the in-laws.

For people who want part-time access to a car, but not the hassle of full-time ownership, one solution is a car-sharing co-op. One such example is the Calgary Alternative Transportation Co-operative, or CATCO.

Around 200 active members share joint access to eight cars, stationed around the inner city. The cars are booked online and rented on a per-hour or per-kilometre basis. Members of the co-op have to meet certain criteria, including possession of a valid driver’s licence with a relatively clean driving record and at least three years of driving experience.

The benefits are easy to understand: cost. CATCO members pay an initial $25 lifetime membership fee, and a $48 annual maintenance fee. The only other cost is the $500 damage deposit, which is returned once they leave the program. As driver’s insurance and downtown parking rates continue to skyrocket, that can look increasingly attractive.

Do eight cars sound like enough for 200 people? CATCO generally has utilization rate of 25 per cent to 35 per cent, meaning more than half the fleet is available on any given day.

CATCO is far from unique. It was inspired by similar programs across Canada. Victoria, Montreal, and Vancouver also have car-sharing co-ops, and one in Ottawa works in conjunction with public transit.

Sure, if you live deep in the ‘burbs and drive every day, a car-sharing co-op might not be for you. But anything that keeps unnecessary vehicles from clogging downtown lots and roads can’t be a bad thing.