Communauto
Encyclopedia
Communauto is a company
based in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
, that operates a carsharing
service in 4 cities in Quebec: Montreal, Quebec City
, Gatineau
and Sherbrooke. It currently has 25,000 users who share a fleet of approximately 1300 vehicles (as of September 2011). The users per vehicle ratio can rise in winter to 20 users per vehicle and drops to about 15 users per vehicle in summer.
(1950–2007) played a major role in its evolution starting in 1995, when Communauto established itself in Montreal as a private company.
The main goal of the code is to enable the public to distinguish between public-interest carsharing services, whether privately operated or not, and other commercial undertakings.
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
based in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, that operates a carsharing
Carsharing
Car sharing or Carsharing is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. They are attractive to customers who make only occasional use of a vehicle, as well as others who would like occasional access to a vehicle of a different type than they use...
service in 4 cities in Quebec: Montreal, Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Gatineau
Gatineau
Gatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...
and Sherbrooke. It currently has 25,000 users who share a fleet of approximately 1300 vehicles (as of September 2011). The users per vehicle ratio can rise in winter to 20 users per vehicle and drops to about 15 users per vehicle in summer.
History
Founded in Quebec City in 1994 by Benoît Robert, its current CEO, Communauto is the oldest carsharing organization in North America. Cycling advocate and environmentalist Claire MorissetteClaire Morissette
Claire Morissette was a Canadian cycling advocate who fought for equal cyclists' rights in Montreal since 1976. She was a member of the group Le Monde à Bicyclette...
(1950–2007) played a major role in its evolution starting in 1995, when Communauto established itself in Montreal as a private company.
Mission
Communauto defines itself as a company with a social, urbanistic and environmental mission. Its unique goal is to provide a convenient and economical alternative to owning a car. The underlying objective is to foster a more rational use of the automobile by:- lowering car ownership rates;
- lowering the number of kilometres driven annually per capita.
Impact
The impact of carsharing in Quebec was evaluated independently as part of a study conducted by Tecsult Inc. in 2006. The study noted, among other things, that nearly three-quarters of Communauto users either sold a vehicle or chose not to purchase one after deciding to subscribe to the service, and that they lowered their yearly greenhouse gas emissions by more than one tonne on average.Criticism
Accessing Communauto membership is difficult for Canada newcomers and people without or short credit history. There's a charge of an additional $500,00 if your credit history is under 12 months old, summing it up to +$1.000,00 down payment at the time of subscription.Carsharing industry code of ethics
In October 2007, in collaboration with eight other North American carsharing organizations, Communauto started developing a code of ethics to guide and strengthen this growing industry.The main goal of the code is to enable the public to distinguish between public-interest carsharing services, whether privately operated or not, and other commercial undertakings.