Recently, Marco Viviani, Vice-President of Strategic Development at Communauto, sat down with La Presse journalist Henri Ouellette-Vézina to talk availability, new vehicles and to present an innovative new offer to improve availability in central neighbourhoods: return FLEX.
Communauto Plans to Add 700 to 900 Vehicles in Montreal Region Next Year, Crossing the 5000-Car Milestone in the City
“To us, this is a significant milestone, and we want to highlight it. Across Canada, with these additions, we’ll be nearing 10,000 vehicles next year,” said Marco Viviani, Vice President of Communauto, in an interview.
Viviani anticipates that vehicle deliveries — which caused major headaches during the pandemic due to supply chain issues — will now be faster. This year, out of an order for 1,100 vehicles in Montreal, about 975 have been received so far.
“This means there are still 100 to 200 vehicles left for 2024, but we’re seeing that delays are improving, and that impacts availability for users. That’s what matters to us,” Viviani said.
Most major car manufacturers, such as Toyota, will continue delivering vehicles throughout the year, the executive noted. In other words, the new cars likely won’t arrive at the beginning of 2025 but will be added gradually, though at a faster pace than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Revisiting Station Zone Models
This winter, Communauto also plans to adjust the format of its 90 new “station zones,” which were introduced last year to allow reserved vehicles to be returned within larger perimeters.
Highly popular with users, these vehicles can be reserved up to a month in advance, unlike FLEX return cars, which can be parked on the street and are reserved instantly through the mobile app.
“The challenge is that we have to shut down these station zones during winter because vehicles stationed there rotate less frequently than FLEX cars. And with the unpredictability of snow removal operations, it becomes a bit unmanageable,” Viviani explained.
A solution has been identified: the concept of return FLEX. This will involve converting reserved vehicles into FLEX vehicles while keeping them associated with the station zone they belong to during the summer. return FLEX cars will be priced the same as advance-reservation vehicles, which are generally more affordable.
Preparing for the Holiday Season
With the holiday season approaching, Marco Viviani encourages users to plan as much as possible by making reservations well in advance.
Once again this year, to maximize vehicle availability for Montrealers, a $20 per day penalty will be applied to anyone canceling or shortening a reservation covering December 24-25.
“The idea is to understand that carsharing is for everyone, but it’s also part of an ecosystem that includes car rental companies, taxis, and public transit. Each plays a vital role. On our own, we’ll never have enough vehicles for everyone,” Viviani concluded.
Here is the original article published on November 24th 2024: Communauto | Bientôt 5000 véhicules d’autopartage à Montréal | La Presse