I was a
founding organizer of a car share coop in Victoria, BC Canada. Prior to moving to Vermont, we were about to sell our car
since we walked and bicycled virtually everywhere in the city. The car share
coop had 4 cars and a pickup truck so when we needed a car or a truck we could
just book a time to use one. In addition, the coop negotiated a deal with a local car rental
agency that gave coop members great deals on car rentals if you needed a
vehicle longer than a few hours or a day. Now we live in Vermont in a great small town but we own
and drive 2 cars!
Car share
businesses and coops are now in Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, and probably more cities in
Canada, tons in Europe, and in Seattle and Portland and probably more US cities.
Car
shares are a great solution for most people living in cities and large towns
that don’t need the use of vehicle to commute or to do their job. And if car
share coop members wanted to have an SUV as one of their vehicles they can
choose to purchase one. Victoria’s had an electric truck for awhile as
well.
Doug
Patterson
Certified Forest Products and Green Building Consultant
Shoreham, VT 05770
802-897-2840
dougfir@sover.net
