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November 5, 2004
Why not share instead of own?
B.C. co-op has 1,700 members with access to 89 well-maintained
cars.
MONIKA ULLMANN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
One look at the gridlock on Vancouver's streets is all the proof
we need that our collective auto-addiction is not over. Whether
it's a clunker or a BMW, owning wheels is a priority for most people.
Even those who use public transit generally own a vehicle if they
can afford it.
But sky rocketing gas prices and insurance rates, parking problems
and the headaches of upkeep, not to mention environmental issues,
show that car ownership has some downsides. Fortunately, there's
a third option: joining the Co-operative Auto Network (CAN). It
gives you access to a fleet of 89 well-maintained late-model vehicles
without all the expense and headaches associated with actually owning
one. All you need is $500 and a couple of hours to learn the ropes.
What's it like to share a car with 19 other people? Operations manager
Tanya Paz said when people are ready to let go of their vehicles,
it can be a freeing experience. But, she admits, for some of the
members, the co-op is a temporary situation.
A lot of young professionals just starting out choose the co-op
route, but eventually buy their own vehicle, she said.
"For some people, cars are a status thing, but for others,
not owning one is a lifetime choice," she said. And as for
that ration of 19 to 1, she said that new members are sometimes
skeptical but are then relieved when they find it works just fine.
"The payoff for me is when members tell me how much it has
improved the quality of their lives – that's the best part,"
said Tracey Axelsson, the co-op's executive director.
Now eight years old, CAN has 1,700 members and is the second co-op
of its kind in North America; the first one is in Montreal. Axelsson
was one of the founding members, when she was a student at Simon
Fraser University. She needed a project to finish her class in community
development and, after seeing a video clip on car co-ops in Germany,
she decided this was what she was looking for.
"I was ready to ditch our horrible, polluting GM, but discovered
that my grandmother put up quite a fuss because she needed me to
drive her to Costco," she laughed.
Though her project "only" got an A, she raised $40,000
in capital and the rest was a history of modest but steady growth.
They started with four vehicles and Axelsson joked that she was
"mother" to about 350 members for a few years. Now CAN
has five full-time and two part-time employees, all holding degrees
ranging from community planning to physics and linguistics.
The idea of car-sharing is continuing to gain acceptance. Since
2000, even the United States has its version called ZIPcars, based
out of Seattle. And Axelsson is about to attend a conference on
car co-operatives in Toronto, at which all five North American players
will compare notes and get ready to expand the concept to other
places.
In Vancouver, CAN is in a good position with City Hall, which regards
the organization as an ally in their battle to reduce the number
of cars on the road and parking spaces in the city. They allow co-op
cars to park in any parking zone and have recently dedicated four
parking spaces in the West End to them. In addition, the city offers
incentives to developers to give space to a number of co-op cars
in their new garages. This gives condo owners the chance to use
them and thus reduces parking for private vehicles. With parking
spaces costing up to $25,000 to build, using the saved space for
things like parks is a win-win situation, said Axelsson.
The first to use this concept were the Mole Hill Housing development
and the restored heritage houses in the 1100 block of Comox and
Pendrell – the space has been turned into public mini parks
with lush green spaces. In the construction stage is a condo at
Burrard and Nelson, which will house at least seven co-op cars once
it's completed in 2005.
Other benefits of CAN membership are a 15 per cent reduction on
bus passes and special deals on rental vehicles for members. Eventually,
the co-op will have Smart Car technology on all its vehicles, not
just the two stationed at Whistler. These cars are accessed via
an electronic swipe card instead of the lock boxes currently in
use. However, the costs are prohibitive, so it might be a while
yet.
For more information, visit www.cooperativeauto.net.
Monika Ullmann is a freelance writer/editor living in
Vancouver. She is guilty of having had a car most of her life. She
can be reached at proword@shaw.ca.
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