The business of offering car-sharing memberships is getting increasingly competitive and popular thanks to high gas prices, reduced parking spots downtown and familiarity with car co-operatives’ services.
Vancouver’s Co-operative Auto Network (CAN) is expected to rebrand itself with a catchier name at a city hall ceremony with mayor Gregor Robertson on March 11.
The 14-year-old car-sharing venture was the first car co-op in North America when it launched in 1997. It now has more than 7,000 members and 200 car locations across the Lower Mainland.
CAN has more than double the number of vehicles that Massachusetts-based Zipcar Inc. has in Metro Vancouver, but it has far fewer members.
CAN’s membership growth has also stagnated in comparison with Zipcar, perhaps because Zipcar has been faster off the mark with features such as an iPhone app that enables users to extend reservations.
Zipcar Vancouver general manager Mark Pribula would not reveal exact numbers to Business in Vancouver, but he said that membership increased more than 50% last year. Given past numbers that Zipcar provided to BIV, that would put Zipcar’s membership at more than 11,000.
“We’ve seen steady growth over the past few years,” Pribula said.
Vancouver city council has given CAN exclusive access to seven parking spots across the city – an arrangement that CAN executives have said stem from the organization’s non-profit nature. (See “Mayor supports Yaletown street parking for car-sharing companies” – issue 1042; October 13-19, 2009.)
Some transit activists are urging the council to allot more spaces for car-share ventures.
Zipcar and CAN differ in how they charge members.
CAN has annual fees and charges different one-time rates depending on whether a member has put down a $500 deposit, how far the member drives and how many times per month they reserve a vehicle.
Zipcar has annual fees but no up-front deposits. Its members can drive as much as they want for the same flat rate per hour.
Both companies incorporate gas, insurance and maintenance costs into their hourly and annual fees.