October 2011
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Editorial - The Future of Urban Personal Mobility
It’s not just about electric cars
Car sharing is a social response to an environmental problem, not just a technical one. Introduced as “the key to combined mobility” in the nineties, it has since been proven time and again to be a much needed service. Nevertheless, we will need to constantly remind ourselves of this in the future, as the appeal of technology and innovations may lead us to lose sight of the original concept and a lack of support for carsharing.
Talks at a conference on “The Future of Urban Personal Mobility: Clarifying Policy Objectives” recently held in Montreal provided a golden opportunity to review these concerns.
According to Tim Papandreou, Deputy Director of Transportation Planning for the Sustainable Streets Division of San Francisco’s Municipal Transit Agency, technology is a means, not an end. He says electric cars, if used like fuel-powered cars, will not solve the problem of urban sprawl, or help achieve the city’s goals of reducing the demand for parking facilities, reducing rush hour traffic jams or improving road safety.
Read the rest of the article in the most recent edition of L'écho-mobile
New data on the environmental impacts of carsharing
A student from the department of industrial engineering at the École Polytechnique de Montréal submitted a new thesis last summer, which will foster advances in the methods for quantifying the environmental impacts of carsharing.
Based on Communauto data collected from 2006 to 2010, the study clearly shows that a large proportion of members would purchase a car if the service did not exist. Thus, each Communauto vehicle replaces, at the very least, 10 privately owned cars. Moreover, with regards to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; 2010 estimates reveal that each carsharing user reduces, on average, its emissions by 1160 kg of CO2 per year, with a larger contribution from younger members. In addition, each new subscriber contributes to an estimated reduction of 932 kg of CO2 in their first year.
Read the rest of the article in the most recent edition of L'écho-mobile
News on our Electric Project
There’s electricity in the air!
Last August 15th, Communauto initiated the most important electric car project accessible to the public in Canada. Out of the 50 Leaf we ordered, 16 have already arrived and 9 more are on their way and will be added to our fleet in the next days. Communauto thus offers its subscribers a privileged access to the most important fleet of self-serve electric vehicles in North America.
Almost 200 subscribers have had the privilege of being selected as pioneers who have helped us finalize the information tools which will enable us to broaden access of these vehicles to all our users. Our objective is to allow everyone to be an accomplished self-taught user: a short video, an information sheet and a short questionnaire will allow everyone to learn online how to use these vehicles and test their knowledge before getting in.
Overall, the experience has been qualified until now as “electrifying!”, at least judging from the numerous enthusiastic comments posted on Facebook (facebook.com/communauto) and on the communopolis.com website.
The in-house survey, which we have asked our “pioneers” to fill out to send us their comments, confirms this trend: 82% of the respondents described the electric vehicle driving experience as “very pleasant” and 57% said that the car “exceeded their expectations”.
Undoubtedly, one of the reasons for this is the ease of use of the LEAF itself, whether it is the simplicity of the plugging/unplugging procedure, the pleasant driving experience, the simplicity of the dashboard controls, or for the clear information regarding the management of the driving range (an element which worried more than one), all of which constitute a variety of reasons which can justify the positive comments.
Faced with these encouraging results, the next step, in the coming weeks, will be to extend to all our users the possibility of using these electric vehicles.
Soon you will no longer be passive witnesses but tens of thousands of people involved in this exciting project. Enjoy it!
Lowered Long Distance rates on weekdays
With the arrival of the “low season”,
Communauto wanted to make your long
distance trips even more economical! Since
the 1st of October 2011, you can take advantage
of the Long Distance rates on weekdays for
as little as $29.95 a day, a reduction of more
than 25% from the regular price ($39.95),
which will still be applied on Saturdays and
Sundays. On the other hand, weekly rates will
decrease from $247.69 to $229.65.
This rate adjustment (a first for Long Distance
rates) will help us improve the availability of
the vehicles on weekends: first, by enabling
us to better distribute the demand on
the different week days, and secondly by
contributing to the maximization of the use
of the vehicles of our Network Reservation
partners (Budget, ViaRoute, Enterprise and
Discount) on days where the demand for our
vehicles is highest.
Network Reservation rates: How to get the best of both worlds
Compare prices
In the context of the fierce competition prevailing in car rental industry, tariffs vary enormously from one agency to the next. It also happens (and this is particularly true during the low season) that a current promotion gives you access to an inferior rate than the ones negotiated by Communauto. For this reason, before placing a reservation through us, compare their prices with ours: www.communauto.com/locateurs/tarifs.html
Cheaper to take advantage of our Network Reservations
Generally, on weekends, it is more advantageous to use a Network Reservation vehicle at our special rates for your long distance trips rather than using a Communauto vehicle. This positioning is done not only for quota management, but also to ensure greater vehicle availability on weekends. This rule is particularly relevant if your have a gold credit card or an equivalent, despite the extremely competitive rates we offer.
Biannual Communauto staff meeting
This autumn, our meeting will take place on the 9th and 10th of November. During those two days, our administrative services will be closed. These meetings are very important for the management team to discuss ongoing projects with the entirety of the company. We thank you in advance for your understanding.
Inaugural Award for Excellence in Carsharing presented to City of Sydney, Australia
At the annual CarSharing Association (CSA) conference in Montréal, Canada this month, the CSA announced a new award to be presented to a government authority ranked a leader in the development and implementation of carsharing support.
The inaugural award, the 2011 Award for Excellence in Carsharing has been awarded to the City of Sydney, Australia. The award is designed to recognize:
- Government authorities that are delivering infrastructure to support carsharing
- CSA members a reference to rank, encourage and benchmark action
- Encourage excellence in carsharing support within government authorities
The CarSharing Association used the following criteria to judge the award:
- For results, not plans; for delivery, not intentions
- For long-term policies with a minimum timeframe of 3 years
- For openness and transparency – policy process is fair, open and transparent
For more information, read the rest of the Press release.
Baroque music. You have the chance to win a pair of tickets
Treat yourself to a classic evening.
Once again this year, Communauto is proud to partner with the music company "Idées heureuses" by supporting their fundraising event which will be held on Monday, the 7th of November. To enjoy this event, Communauto will offer a pair of tickets to this cultural evening focused on baroque; Combining music, dance, theatre and creation. In addition, the winners will have the privilege of being one of the first to visit the new Bourgie room at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and to participate in a silent auction. To enter the contest go to: www.communopolis.com
Sponsor a friend with Equiterre’s Transportation Cocktail Service-Station
You still have one month to sponsor a friend to convince him to go from being alone in the car to sustainable transport. This is what Équiterre has been proposing since September in its Service-Station Transport Cocktail 2011.
This awareness campaign throughout Quebec, that Communauto is pleased to support again this year, is back full of good ideas and encourages you to convince your friends to change their behaviour, to accompany them in this process, to make their life easier and to applaud their successes. Sponsors and friends can win one year of sustainable transport, including a dozen of Communauto subscriptions.
The Transportation Cocktail Service-Station offers many arguments and tools adapted to the different interests and realities of each citizen, as well as inspiring activities throughout the season. It is a turnkey concept; you just have to choose a friend to sponsor.
Learn more.
Montreal
317 · 21e Avenue et Rosemont
320 · Place Ville Marie (Électrique)
>> You can find exact location of new stations on the
Communauto Interactive Map of Montreal (look for the blue icons  ).
Montreal
PERMANENT FULL-TIME POSITION(S)
Agent(e) de développement – communications et coordination des opérations
Préposés(es) au service à la clientèle
Click here to access the archives of the Communauto newsletter.
For a direct link to the most recent issue of L'écho-mobile (vol. XVII, no 2, October 2011), click here (PDF).
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